Halima Cisse, 26, from Mali, gave birth to 9 babies at the AinBorja clinic in Casablanca, Morocco on May, breaking the current world record set by “ Octomum” Nadya Suleman in 2009, who gave birth to 8 children who survived the IVF treatment. Halima Cisse and her husband, Kader Arby, 35, received the surprise of a lifetime when they found out they were expecting high-order multiples, completely naturally.
At first, the couple was told they were expecting seven babies, and doctors warned there was less than a 50 percent chance of survival for all of the children. Cisse had traveled to Morocco for better m.edical care, and there, minutes before her May 5 birthday, discovered she was carrying nine babies. Cisse said: “It was a complete sʜᴏᴄᴋ when I found out I was having nine children because I thought it was going to be seven. When the babies were about to be born, many questions popped up in my mind. My sister held my hand but all I can think about is how am I going to take care of them and who will help me?”
Cisse was hospitalized at 25 weeks pregnant with her sister Aisha while her husband Kader Arby stayed at their home in Timbuktu, Mali due to C.ovid-19 travel restrictions. And the m.edical team looking after her was able to delay her delivery by up to 30 weeks. Ten doctors and 25 m.edical staff were involved in the preterm birth. The nonuplets include four brothers: Mohammed, Bah, El Hadji, Oumar) and five sisters (Hawa, adama, Fatouma, Oumou, Kadidia) who weighed between 1 and 2 pounds at birth. All are still in the neonatal intensive care unit.
Cisse says she is still recovering from a difficult pregnancy and delivery. Her stomach alone weighed about 65 pounds, and the complicated C-Section, which l.ost a lot of b.lood, left her frail. Cisse said: “Having one child is difficult, but giving birth to nine is unthinkable. It’s amazing the amount of work involved in taking care of them. I am greateful to the m.edical team who are working hard and the Gᴏvernment of Mali for funding this.”
Currently, babies are fed every two hours, drinking a combination of six liters of formula a day while undergoing 100 diapers, which are changed every two hours. They are also checked every three hours. To date, the care bill to treat the babies has been worth £1 million and is covered by the Milian Gᴏvernment. The couple has a three-bedroom house in Timbuktu, Mali. Arby worked as a sailor in the Malian navy. Parenting with 10 children is tough, but for now, Arby says he’s focused on doing well for his wife and nine new family members.
He said: “This is a wonderful gift that God has given us. There’s a lot of work to be done in the future, but for now we’re just focused on taking care of the babies and bringing them home. The big concern for me is not the size of my house, how many rooms we have or the money, but making sure my wife and kids are okay.”
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