Mom Who Gave Birth to 9 Thriving Babies Calls Them ‘Gifts From God’

The world’s only nonuplets have celebrated their first birthday!

Halima Cissé and her husband Abdelkader Arby welcomed 9 thriving babies: five girls and four boys, weighing between just 1.1 and 2.4 pounds, at the Ain Borja clinic in Casablanca, Morocco on May 4 last year. The babies were born in the 30th week of pregnancy, and although they are still under hospital observation, their father says they are in excellent health. Four boys and five girls in Mali — the Guinness World Record-breaking nonuplets — celebrated a very important milestone this week: their first birthday. Mom Who Gave Birth to 9 Thriving Babies Calls Them ‘Gifts From God’

Doctors initially believed she was only having seven children.

“So, you can imagine our surprise when we discovered nine of them during the birth,” said Casablanca Ain Borja Clinic’s Dr. Youssef Alaoui. “Luckily this didn’t faze us, since we have one of the largest neonatal resuscitation services in Morocco. Our teams were ready to welcome these children into the world and able to treat them in the best conditions.” A team of 10 doctors and 25 paramedics had assisted at the delivery of the premature babies.

“Nothing is better than the first year,” Arby said. “We will remember this great moment we are going to experience.”

Arby and Cissé held a small birthday party for daughters: Kadidia, Fatouma, Hawa, Adama, and Oumou, and sons: Mohammed VI, Oumar, Elhadji, and Bah.

“They’re all crawling now. Some are sitting up and can even walk if they hold onto something,” said Arby.

While the father says it can definitely be tiring caring for 10 children, he says he is thankful for his family:

“It’s not easy, but it’s great.”

Before the nonuplets came along, the world record for the largest set of surviving multiples born was held by “Octomom” Nadya Suleman’s eight children. Mom Who Gave Birth to 9 Thriving Babies Calls Them ‘Gifts From God’