South African woman, 37, gives birth to 10 babies

From having two to 12 children overnight.

Matthias Ang | June 10, 2021, 02:06 PM

A South African woman has reportedly given birth to decuplets consisting of seven boys and three girls in a single birth, the BBC reported.

Gosiame Thamara Sithole, 37, delivered all of her children via caesarean section on June 7 at a hospital in the South African city of Pretoria, according to her husband, Teboho Tsotetisi, who was quoted by Pretoria News.

However, a relative who spoke to BBC said that at least half of the children were delivered via natural birth.

Initially told she was expecting six children

Sithole said that doctors had initially told her that she was expecting six children, before additional scans showed that it was octuplets.

Two of the eight children could not be detected at first "because they were inside the wrong tube", she added.

Speaking to Pretoria News in May, Sithole said that she had been shocked by her pregnancy and that it was "tough" for her at first.

She also had sleepless nights worrying about her delivery.

Sithole said:

"How would they fit in the womb? Would they survive? What if they came out conjoined at the head, in the stomachs or hands? Like, what would happen? I asked myself all these questions until the doctor assured me that my womb was starting to expand inside."

Despite all of these issues, Sithole added that she was "over the moon" and looking forward to seeing her children.

In addition, she also said that her pregnancy was natural as she was not taking any fertility treatment.

Family now has 12 children

Sithole's delivery means that the family now has a total of 12 children.

She had previously given birth to a pair of twins who are now six years old.

Tsotetisi, who is unemployed, had also echoed his wife's elation in May about their children.

He said:

"I could not believe it. I felt like one of God’s chosen children. I felt blessed to be given these kinds of blessings when many people out there need children."

Potential world record

Meanwhile, the Guinness World Records said it was investigating Sithole's case.

Previously in May, 25-year-old Halima Cisse from Mali had set a world record for the most children delivered at a single birth to survive when she gave birth to nine babies in Morocco.

The record had previously been held by a U.S. woman named Nadya Suleman, who had given birth to eight babies conceived through in-vitro fertilisation in 2009.

Top photo via Thobile Mathonsi/African News Agency