A woman from South Africa has reportedly given birth to 10 babies at once, breaking the Guinness World Record held by Malian Halima Cisse - who gave birth to nine children in Morocco last month.
Gosiame Thamara Sithole, 37, initially thought she was going to have eight babies, according to the New York Post. But when she gave birth on Monday night, Ms Sithole and her family were surprised to see 10 babies emerge - two more than previous scans had showed.
"It's seven boys and three girls. She was seven months and seven days pregnant. I am happy. I am emotional," her husband, Teboho Tsotetsi, told the Pretoria News after the birth of the decuplets.
Ms Sithole, from Gauteng, said that her pregnancy was natural and she did not undergo any fertility treatments. She already has six-year-old twins.
"I am shocked by my pregnancy," Ms Sithole had told Pretoria News last month, when she still believed she was about to have octuplets. "I was convinced that if it was more, it would be twins or triplets, not more than that. When the doctor told me, I took time to believe it," she said.
The retail store manager said she had sleepless nights worrying about her unborn children. "How would they fit in the womb? Would they survive? What if they came out conjoined at the head, in the stomachs or hands?" she said. "I asked myself all these questions until the doctor assured me that my womb was starting to expand inside. God made a miracle and my children stayed in the womb without any complications."
If confirmed, Gosiame Thamara Sithole's 10-child delivery will be the first-known case of decuplets.
A representative for Guinness World Records told New York Post that the organisation is looking into the matter.
"Guinness World Records is aware of the news that Gosiame Thamara Sithole has given birth to decuplets, and we send our congratulations and best wishes to the family," a spokesperson for the records listing saidTuesday. "At the current time, we are yet to verify this as a record as the wellbeing of both the mother and babies is of top priority."
"Our records team alongside a specialist consultant are looking into this," the spokesperson said.
