In May, Mali-based Halima Cisse, 26, broke the world record set by “Octomom” Nadya Slema in 2009 by having 9 children through IVF treatment at the Ai-Borja Clinic in Casablanca, Morocco. Halima Cisse and her husband Kader Rby, 35, received the surprise of a lifetime when they learned they were having high-order multiples.
The couple was told they were expecting six children, but doctors estimated a 50% chance of each child surviving. Before her fifth birthday on May 5, Cisse flew to Morocco for better medical care after discovering her pregnancy. Cisse stated, “It was completely me.” I expected multiple births when I found out I was pregnant. I had many questions before the babies were born.
My sister took care of my children, but I worried about handling them and who would help me. At 25 weeks pregnant, Cisse and her sister Aisha were hospitalized for C. ovidus-19 travel problems, leaving her husband Kader at home in Timbukt, Mali.
Her delivery was delayed for 30 weeks due to medical staff care. Doctors and 25 medical staff participated in the premature birth. The group included four boys (Mohammed, Bah, El Hadji, and Omar) and five sisters (Hawa, Adama, Fatoma, Omo, and Kadidia) born between one and two pounds. Everyone is still receiving intensive care.
