"Mother is recovering well and the babies are doing well," said obstetrician Lawrence Impey.
The woman, whose name is not being disclosed, had undergone fertility treatment, which increases the risk of multiple pregnancies.
Russian doctors advised her to have a selective abortion to give the remaining embryos a better chance of survival, but she refused citing religious grounds. The treatment at the Oxford's John Radcliffe Hospital was paid for by Russian philanthropist.
She moved to Oxford 15 weeks into her pregnancy and received extensive out-patient treatment in order to prolong her pregnancy for as long as possible, as the longer babies stay in their mother's womb, the higher the chances of survival. Premature babies often suffer health problems which prevent them from developing normally.
"Throughout most of the pregnancy, I don't think she really thought that she was going to end up with five live little babies, and to be fair, we didn't think that either," Impey said.
Last Saturday, it took 20 minutes for 18 doctors and nurses to complete the delivery. All the five girls were immediately named and baptized by their grandfather, a Russian Orthodox priest.
"The delivery was like a relay race, with a team looking after each baby," the doctor said.
The Russian babies, who are still being monitored in intensive care, will stay in hospital until they are well enough to return to Russia with their parents.
Such a large number of babies, delivered at once, is extremely rare, as even twins are considered a risk for both the mother and babies.
The first surviving quintuplets on record were the Dionne sisters - Annette, Cecile, Yvonne, Marie and Emilie - born in Ontario in 1934. They were removed from their parents by the Canadian authorities in 1935 after the girl's father signed a contract with an amusement fair and they went on public display in a specially built theme park called Quintland.
