Multiple pregnancy is a phenomenon that has been thoroughly studied and described by modern medicine. Doctors watch with special attention women carrying twins or triplets, but they do not experience any surprise. Meanwhile, science knows cases of the simultaneous birth of four, five babies and even more. What is the largest number of children born by one woman in one birth and in a lifetime?
Moms who have become large in one day
According to world statistics, one of the 700 pregnancies in the world is four-armed. To bear and give birth to four babies at the same time is a
serious test for the female body. Expectant mothers expecting such an impressive replenishment are observed by doctors with special attention. But even today, not all quadruple babies survive and reach adulthood. One of the most famous
fours is the
Durst sisters:
Callie , Sarah,
Kendra and
Megan . These girls are
not just fours , but also completely identical twins. In addition, today they are real
stars thanks to their own reality show. In fact, quartets are born all over the world not so rarely, but the appearance of
four identical twins is a real sensation. In 2000, there were only 15 such
quadruples all over the world. What is curious, most often the twins in quartets are girls. In the Guinness Book of Records, not only the largest number of children
born by one woman is noted, but there is also a record about the oldest mother of all
fours . California resident Mary
Fudel gave birth to four babies at the age of 55. Unfortunately, the story of this family is
rather sad : one infant died, two were given up for adoption, and only one out of four is brought up by a mother.
Is it possible to give birth to five children at the same time?
The cases of the simultaneous birth of five children as a result of naturally occurring pregnancies are also known to science. In 1934, five
identical twins were born in Canada
. All twins grew up and reached adulthood, invariably remaining a landmark for their hometown. True, the sisters often said that such fame for happiness did not bring them. In 2013, in
Salt Lake City , a young mother gave birth to three girls and two boys at the same time. This is not the largest number of children
born at the same time, but it is interesting that pregnancy also occurred naturally. In 2016, in Odessa, Oksana
Kobeletskaya, at the age of 37, became the mother of five kids at the same time. Throughout their pregnancy, doctors promised this mother with many children triplets.
Known births of six and seven babies at a time
Having six children at the same time - is it possible with a natural conception? It's hard to believe, but the human body is much more resilient than we used to think. To date, 14 gears live in the world. Many of these children were born as a result of natural conception. For the first time, the public learned about the absolutely healthy six babies born by one mother at a time, in 1974.
Each family necessarily has its own largest number of children born simultaneously. We used to be proud of relatives who gave birth to 2
to 4 children at the same time. But in the family of
McCoy , who lives in Iowa, in 1997 at the same time
7 babies were born. All children survived and developed,
but two of them had
serious illnesses. Several more cases of the birth of a
semen are known . Such children appeared in 1998 with
Hashi Mohammed Humair from Saudi Arabia. A similar case was recorded in Egypt, where
Ghazali Ibrahim Omar at the age of 27 also became the mother of seven babies at once. The woman claims that the pregnancy is natural, and she did not resort to artificial insemination.
Absolute maternity records
The first known case of the birth of eight babies was simultaneously recorded in 1998. The happy
mother of many children was
Nkem Chukwu , who lives in Texas. This case is unique in that the first baby was born
on December 8, and the remaining seven children were born only on the 20th of the same month. One in eight babies died almost immediately after birth, and the rest reached adulthood. Over the years, it was believed that 8 is the largest number of children
born to one woman in the same birth. In 2009, the world's most famous
eights were born. Their mother, Nadi
Suliman, is actively covering the media with her unusual pregnancy and the process of raising babies. To date, this is the only case when all
newborns survived . And yet, what is the largest number of children a woman gave birth to at a time? With this achievement in the field of motherhood, Maria
Fernandez from India got into the Guinness Book of Records. At the age of 42, the woman gave birth to 11 boys. Natural birth took only 37 minutes, all babies are absolutely healthy.
How many children did the mother of many children have?
The largest number of children born to one woman in a lifetime is 69. This record was set by a Russian woman, the wife of a peasant Fedor Vasilyev in the 18th century. Between 1725 and 1765, the heroine mother gave birth to 16 times twins, 7 times triplets and 4 times quadruples . In infancy, only two out of 69 babies died, all the rest normally grew and developed. The record set by the peasant Vasilyeva in the 18th century is still not broken. But there are other interesting examples in modern history. For example, in Chile at the end of the 20th century, Leontina Apbin gave birth to only 55 children.
Unique pregnancy and childbirth cases
Not all records in the category of multiple pregnancies end with stories of happy large families. In 1917, a case of
fifteen pregnancies was recorded in Rome. According to doctors,
this phenomenon is a consequence of the long-term treatment of female infertility. However, a record pregnancy was interrupted. Recorded in the world medical statistics and cases of simultaneous bearing of 9, 10 and even 11 children by one woman. In such situations, stillbirth is widespread and
infant mortality is high in the first days after birth. To date, the largest number of children
born to one woman in one pregnancy is 11. The Guinness Book of Records in this category includes the
births of Maria Fernandez , during which completely healthy and viable boys were born.