Ultrasound examinations conducted in both Mali and Morocco had suggested that Cisse was carrying seven babies.
A 25 year-old Malian woman has given birth to nine babies (nonuplets), two more than doctors had detected during her ultrasound check-ups.
Halima Cisse, who comes from Mali was flown to Morocco for better medical supervision ahead of giving birth where a medical team of 10 doctors assisted by 25 paramedics were mobilised for the deliveryof the five baby girls and four boys.
According to a medical director of the Ain Borja clinic in the city of Casablanca, Professor Youssef Alaoui, such a case of multiple births is “extremely rare, it’s exceptional”.
The verified world record for the most living births is eight, born to American woman Nadya Suleman, nicknamed “Octomum” in 2009 when she was 33.
ALSO READ: Hungry pregnant women are giving birth to stunted children, feeding the cycle of poverty
Her premature babies, weighing only between 500 grams and one kilogram will be looked after “for two to three months” in incubators, Alaoui said.
While some tweeps were shocked and fascinated by the birth, some couldn’t help but think about taking care of the nine babies every day and suggested the young woman would need a lot of help.
Additional reporting from AFP
Download our app and read this and other great stories on the move. Available for Android and iOS.
