Meet the world's most fertile woman who gave birth to 44 children, including three sets of quadruplets

Published 30 June 2026 · health

Image: Reuters How the world's most fertile woman became the mother of 44 children The rare medical condition behind the multiple births Why doctors did

Image: Reuters How the world's most fertile woman became the mother of 44 children The rare medical condition behind the multiple births Why doctors did not stop the pregnancies earlier Raising dozens of children on her own Life inside one of the world's largest families When Mariam Nabatanzi from Uganda gave birth to her first set of twins at just 13 years old, she had no idea her life would become one of the most extraordinary stories in modern medical history. Over the next two decades, she gave birth to 44 children through a remarkable series of multiple pregnancies, including six sets of twins, four sets of triplets and three sets of quadruplets. Her story earned global attention, with many media outlets dubbing her the world's most fertile woman. Behind the astonishing numbers, however, lies a deeply human story of child marriage, a rare medical condition, poverty and a mother's determination to raise one of the world's largest documented families.Born in 1980 in Uganda, Mariam Nabatanzi was married off at the age of 12 in what has been widely reported as a child marriage. A year later, she became a mother after giving birth to her first set of twins. Instead of spending her teenage years in school, she found herself caring for children while still growing up herself.In interviews with Reuters, Mariam revealed that she had once hoped to have only six children.

She wanted to rebuild the family she had lost after her mother abandoned them, and according to her account, five of her older siblings later died after allegedly being poisoned by their stepmother.Reflecting on her early life, she said, "I started taking on adult responsibilities at an early stage. I have not had joy, I think, since I was born. "Over approximately 25 years, Mariam gave birth 38 times, resulting in 44 children because of repeated multiple births. Her pregnancies included six sets of twins, four sets of triplets, three sets of quadruplets and two single births. Tragically, six of her children later died, leaving her to raise 38 surviving children.The extraordinary frequency of multiple births made her case one of the best documented in modern medicine. Unlike many historical claims about exceptionally large families, Mariam's pregnancies have been extensively reported and medically documented, making her story unique among contemporary cases.Doctors later diagnosed Mariam with hyperovulation, a condition in which the ovaries release multiple eggs during a single menstrual cycle instead of the usual one. When several eggs are fertilised, the chances of twins, triplets or quadruplets increase dramatically.According to Dr Charles Kiggundu, a gynaecologist at Mulago Specialised Hospital in Kampala, Mariam's unusually large ovaries caused her to release multiple eggs repeatedly, making successive multiple pregnancies far more likely than in the average woman.