South African Woman Gives Birth To 10 Babies
Gosiame Thamara Sithole, a South African woman, has reportedly given birth to 10 babies in what is a new world record, reports say.
Sithole’s husband, Teboho Tsotetsi, told Pretoria News that they were astonished by the group of ten, also known as decuplet, after preliminary scans showed only eight children in the womb.
"It's seven boys and three girls. I am happy. I am emotional. I can't talk much," he said to the news outlet.
A family member, who did not want their identity to be revealed, told the BBC that five of the births came naturally, while five others were via caesarean section.
Nadya Suleman held the previous record for giving birth to the most children at one time when she had octuplets in 2009. Guinness World Records informed the BBC that it was in the process of verifying Mrs. Sithole’s case.
BBC Africa health reporter Rhoda Odhiambo says most pregnancies involving large numbers of babies end prematurely and that births involving more than three babies are rare and often the result of fertility treatments. In this case, the couple says they conceived naturally.
Before the arrival of the decuplet, the Sithole family already had 6-year-old twins.
