A woman in South Africa claimed to have given birth to 10 babies in one go, which would purportedly make it the largest delivery of its kind in the world if confirmed by doctors. However, there are significant doubts surrounding the truth of this claim. The news about Goshayme Sithole (37 years old) garnered attention in South African media and beyond after her husband stated she delivered 7 boys and 3 girls via Caesarean section at a hospital in Pretoria on Monday.
However, the South African government stated that it could not find any official records documenting these births. A government official requested the public's assistance in gathering more information about this story, according to the British newspaper "Daily Mail." She wrote on Twitter: "We need to verify this story and offer assistance if required."
Mzuwandile Masina, the mayor of Ekurhuleni, where the couple resides, mentioned that the municipality is trying to locate the family but without success. Goshayme's husband, who is unemployed, had informed local journalists about the birth of the ten babies, expressing his joy about the event.
This situation comes less than a month after a Malian woman gave birth to nine babies in Morocco. Doubts regarding the story of the ten births in South Africa increased, especially as the hospital where the delivery took place has not been identified. The "Daily Mail" reported that it could not verify the accuracy of the story from an independent source.
The story originated from a local South African news site, "Pretoria News," which quoted Tsotsitzi Sithole saying his wife gave birth to 10 babies, seven females and three males. He expressed extreme happiness and could not speak further. The wife spoke to the same newspaper, stating that the doctors initially informed her she was pregnant with six babies, but this number was raised to eight after a later scan, and during the Caesarean procedure, two additional babies were discovered.
"Pretoria News" did not clarify the condition of the babies after birth, although it was the first news site to publish the story. The "Daily Mail" noted that there is no evidence that the South African woman has broken the world record.
