Woman gives birth to 10 babies at a go

Speaking to Pretoria News a month ago, Ms. Sithole said her pregnancy was “tough at the beginning” and she had prayed for a healthy birth, with many a sleepless night worrying about what was to come.

“How would they fit in the womb? Would they survive?” she asked herself, but was reassured by doctors that her womb was expanding.

Gosiame Thamara Sithole when pregnant at a later month
PHOTO CREDIT: Africa News Agency

A family member, who did not want to be identified, told the BBC News that Ms Sithole has had 10 babies – 5 via natural birth and 5 via caesarean section.

“It’s seven boys and three girls. I am happy. I am emotional. I can’t talk much,” her husband Teboho Tsotetsi told Pretoria News after the birth.

Most pregnancies involving large numbers of babies end prematurely, says BBC Africa’s health reporter Rhoda Odhiambo.

Multiple births involving more than three babies are rare and often the result of fertility treatments – but in this case the couple say they conceived naturally.