Mali woman gives birth to nine babies (nonuplets) in Morocco

 

On Tuesday, a Malian woman gave birth to nonuplets in Morocco, with all nine babies “doing well,” according to her government, though Moroccan authorities have yet to confirm what would be an extremely rare event.

On March 30, Mali’s government flew Halima Cisse, a 25-year-old woman from the north of the West African country, to Morocco for better treatment. She was initially thought to be carrying seven children.

Women who successfully bear septuplets to term are extremely rare, and nonuplets are even rarer.

Rachid Koudhari, a spokesman for the Moroccan health ministry, said he was unaware of such a multiple birth in one of the country’s hospitals.

Cisse had given birth by Caesarean section to five girls and four boys, according to Mali’s health ministry.

“So far, the mother and babies are doing well,” Mali’s Health Minister Fanta Siby told Reporters, adding that the Malian doctor who accompanied Cisse to Morocco had kept her updated.

She added that they will be returning home in a few weeks.

According to local press accounts, doctors were worried about Cisse’s health as well as her babies’ chances of survival.

Ultrasound scans performed in both Mali and Morocco indicated that Cisse was carrying seven infants, according to Mali’s health ministry in a statement.

“The medical teams of Mali and Morocco, whose expertise is at the root of this pregnancy’s happy outcome,” Siby said, expressing her gratitude.