Mariam Nabatanzi from Uganda, is only 39 years old but she is the mother of 38 children, all from the same father!!
“When I got married at age 13 I only wanted 6 children, but already from first birth when I had twins I saw that it would be impossible,” says Mariam.
Mariam has a special condition called hyper-ovulation meaning each time she ovulates many egg cells go into her uterus, so from every pregnancy she had multiple births of twins triplets or quadruplets.
Mariam had 6 sets of twins, 4 sets of triplets and 3 sets of quadruplets but she also had a few single births too. Mariam explains, “I gave birth to 44 children but 6 of them died and I’m left with 38. Unfortunately their father left us alone but I don’t see my children as a burden and I have no regret giving birth to them. In spite of the daily challenges I face, I see them as a blessing and not a curse. I work in various jobs and I get help from my neighbors and friends in order to raise my children and I can’t accept the idea of giving children up for adoption or deciding not to have children just because of one small difficulty or another,” says Mariam.
Her oldest is a 23 year old boy and her youngest is a 4 month old boy. Out of all her children only 10 are girls the rest are boys and in her triplets and quads there are non-identical children.