ATLANTA (AP) — Conjoined twin boys have been born at Northside Hospital in Atlanta.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports (http://on-ajc.com/1pYovh6) that the boys -- Asa and Eli Hamby -- share a torso, arms and legs and are joined side-by-side.

The boys were born by C-section Thursday morning to Robin and Michael Hamby, of Ladonia, Alabama.

The Journal-Constitution reports that it was a rare and risky pregnancy. The arrival of the twins was a relief to anxious family members, many of whom traveled from the Columbus area to Atlanta for the births. Ladonia is just west of the Alabama line, about six miles west of Columbus.

The Atlanta newspaper reports that conjoined twins occur once every 200,000 live births. Being joined side-by-side makes the Hamby twins even rarer, a condition known as dicephalic parapagus.

___