By Jonk wa Mashamba
news@alexreporter.co.za
Phumla Williams, Director-General of Government Communication and Information Systems says she has noted media reports and social media posts alleging that a South African woman has given birth to 10 babies and reportedly broken the world record.
Williams says the posts attribute the birth of the babies to Gosiame Thamara Sithole from Gauteng.
“The government has been unable to verify the authenticity of this birth at our facilities.
“We need to verify this story and provide assistance where needed,” said Williams.
Media reports claimed that a South African woman gave birth to 10 babies in same pregnancy and set a world record.
Reports said the woman who was already a mother of twins, reportedly gave birth to seven boys and three girls by Caesarean section.
The 37-year-old was allegedly taken aback by the birth as she was initially told by doctors that she was expecting six children.
Reports say all the ten babies are alive and will be spending the next few months in an incubator.
If the claim is proven true by doctors, it can break the Guinness World Record for the largest ever birth.
The current record is held by Halima Cisse of Mali, who gave birth to nine babies at a hospital in Morocco in the month of May.
While Halima gave birth to nonuplets, Sithole is believed to have given birth to decuplets at a hospital in Pretoria on 7 June.
Sithole’s husband, Teboho Tsotetsi, said he was both happy and emotional after the birth.
“It’s seven boys and three girls. She was seven months and seven days pregnant. I am happy. I am emotional. I can’t talk much. Let’s talk again in the morning, please,” Tsotetsi told iHarare.com.
Halima Cisse, who holds the current record, isn’t the first woman to give birth to 9 babies. She is the first woman to give birth to nine babies with all surviving.
Before Cisse, it was a woman from the US in 2009, who delivered eight babies in a single pregnancy. All of them survived
