A woman has reportedly given birth to ten babies simultaneously, breaking the current record, which was only last set in May this year.
Gosiame Thamara Sithole, 37, gave birth to ten babies on Monday via Caesarean section at a hospital in Pretoria, South Africa, reports on Tuesday said.
Already the parents of two 6-year-old twins, Gosiame and her husband, Teboho Tsotetsi, were delighted with the news after expecting to welcome eight babies.
Initial scans suggested Gosiame would give birth to six children before later showing eight babies and ultimately giving birth to ten –seven boys and three girls.
Her husband said she was “surprised” when so many babies were born and added that he was “happy” and “emotional.”
Teboho said that he “[couldn’t] talk much” when being interviewed by the press on Tuesday and asked them to return and speak with him again on Wednesday morning.
Gosiame said that she and her husband had not undergone any fertility treatment, which is often linked to the births of multiple babies.
The babies — who will be the first set of known decuplets once the reports are confirmed — arrived early while their mother was seven months and seven days pregnant, according to their father, Teboho.
If confirmed, Gosiame will break the record currently held by Halima Cisse in Malia, who gave birth to nine children last month.
A statement from a spokesperson for the Guinness World Records said that they were aware of the news and sent “‘congratulations and best wishes” to the family.
They added that the reports were yet to be verified, as the health and wellbeing of Gosiame and her babies were of paramount importance and the Guinness World Records‘ “top priority.”
However, they confirmed that their records team was working with a specialist consultant to assess the news.
In the early hours of Friday, the story took another bizarre twist after officials in the country who were searching for the mother and her ten babies gave conflicting statements on the matter.
An official statement from the South African Government said they were not able to locate the woman after she made the birth announcement to the world.
The Gauteng Provincial Government said they reached out to several hospitals, and staff members have never heard of Gosiame Thamara Sithole and her ten newborns.
A few hours later, officials in Gauteng’s Department of Social Development issued a new statement claiming that they have finally found Gosiame in hospital but refused to say how many babies she has delivered.
