Malian Mother Halima Cissé’s Nine Children Break World Record as All Five-Year-Old Nonuplets Remain Alive

UgandaToday: Malian Mother Halima Cissé’s Nine Children Break World Record as All Five-Year-Old Nonuplets Remain Alive

By UgandaToday News Desk

A remarkable story of motherhood, medical expertise and survival continues to unfold in Africa, five years after Malian mother Halima Cissé gave birth to nine babies in Casablanca, Morocco.

Born on 4 May 2021, the five girls and four boys have become the first known set of nonuplets — nine babies from one pregnancy — to survive birth, earning them a Guinness World Records title.

And unlike several earlier attempts at nonuplet births, in which some or all of the babies died shortly after delivery, all nine of Cissé’s children are alive today.

The latest confirmation came from Guinness World Records in May 2026, when the siblings celebrated their fifth birthday, with the organisation reporting that they were “happy, healthy and getting ready to start school.”

The extraordinary birth in Casablanca

Cissé was initially believed by doctors in Mali to be carrying seven babies.

However, after the Malian government arranged for her to be transferred to Morocco for specialist medical care, doctors at the Ain Borja Clinic in Casablanca discovered that she was actually carrying nine babies.

On 4 May 2021, Cissé underwent a Caesarean section at approximately 30 weeks of pregnancy.

The newborns comprised five girls — Adama, Oumou, Hawa, Kadidia and Fatouma — and four boys — Mohammed VI, Elhadji, Oumar and Bah.

Each weighed between approximately 500 grams and one kilogram, placing the babies at considerable risk because of their extreme prematurity. They were immediately placed in incubators and received intensive neonatal care.

Nine babies — all survived

What transformed the Casablanca delivery from an extraordinary medical event into a world record was not simply the number of babies born.

It was their survival.

According to Guinness World Records, the Cissé nonuplets represent the first known case of nine babies from a single birth surviving delivery.

The record had previously been held by the eight surviving babies born in 2009 to American mother Nadya Suleman, popularly known as “Octomom.”

Guinness says that before the Cissé children, there had been no recorded case of nonuplets surviving for more than a few hours after birth.

That makes the Malian family’s achievement particularly significant in the history of multiple births.

The tragic records that came before Cissé

The distinction becomes even clearer when compared with earlier nonuplet births.

In 1971, Australian woman Geraldine Brodrick gave birth to nine babies in Sydney. The delivery remains tied with Cissé’s for the overall record of nine children delivered at a single birth.

But the outcome was tragically different.

Guinness records that two of Brodrick’s five boys were stillborn, while the remaining children died within days. None survived beyond six days.

Another reported case occurred in Malaysia in 1999, when Zurina Mat Saad gave birth to nine babies. None survived more than a few hours.

Consequently, Cissé’s 2021 delivery marked a historic turning point: nine babies were not only delivered in one birth, but all nine survived.

Five years later, the record-breaking children are still together

The strongest evidence that Cissé’s achievement was not merely a momentary survival statistic came with the children’s fifth birthday in May 2026.

Guinness World Records reported that the nine siblings were healthy, active and preparing to begin school.

Their mother said the children were growing well, were full of joy and had developed different personalities despite being born together.

The family celebrated quietly at home in Mali, where the children now live with their parents and their older sister.

The five-year milestone is particularly important because it demonstrates that the record concerns not merely survival immediately after birth, but an extraordinary journey that has continued through early childhood.

From intensive care to life in Mali

The children spent the first 19 months of their lives in Morocco, receiving medical and nursing support before returning to Mali in December 2022.

Their prolonged stay reflected the medical challenges associated with their premature birth and extremely low birth weights.

By the time they celebrated their third birthday in 2024, Guinness described all nine as healthy and developing well.

In 2025, the family marked the children’s fourth birthday, with Guinness highlighting their continued growth.

Then, in May 2026, the organisation reported the even bigger milestone: the world’s only surviving nonuplets had reached five years of age.

A medical miracle born in Africa

The Cissé family’s story has also drawn attention to the role of specialised African medical care.

The delivery took place in Morocco after the Malian government transferred Cissé to Casablanca when doctors realised that she needed specialised care.

The nine premature babies required incubators and round-the-clock medical attention, with paediatric neonatologist Khalil Msaif and a wider medical team overseeing their care.

Their survival therefore represents not only an extraordinary maternal story, but also a remarkable achievement in neonatal medicine and coordinated healthcare between Mali and Morocco.

The nine children behind the world record

The record holders are:

• Adama — girl
• Oumou — girl
• Hawa — girl
• Kadidia — girl
• Fatouma — girl
• Mohammed VI — boy
• Elhadji — boy
• Oumar — boy
• Bah — boy

Together, they make up the world’s first known surviving set of nine babies from a single birth.

Their older sister also suddenly found herself becoming the eldest child in a family of ten.

A record that remains extraordinary five years later

The significance of Halima Cissé’s story lies in the combination of numbers, medical odds and time.

Nine children being born at once is exceptionally rare. Nine premature babies, each weighing less than one kilogram in some cases, surviving the immediate neonatal period is even more extraordinary.

But the Cissé story did not end when the babies left their incubators.

It continued through their first birthday, their return to Mali, their third and fourth birthdays and, most recently, their fifth birthday in May 2026.

Guinness World Records continues to recognise the Cissé siblings as the holders of the title “most children delivered at a single birth to survive.”

For Africa, the story has become a powerful reminder of what can happen when maternal care, specialist medicine, family support and determination converge.

Five years after that extraordinary day in Casablanca, Halima Cissé’s nine children are no longer fragile newborns fighting for survival.

They are nine school-going children preparing for the next chapter of their lives — together.

#UgandaToday #PhoenixNewsFeeds #OperaNewsFeeds #HalimaCisse #MaliNonuplets #Nonuplets #WorldRecord #GuinnessWorldRecords #Africa #AfricanStories #Motherhood #MedicalMiracle #NeonatalCare #Morocco #Mali #InspiringAfrica #AfricanWomen #ExtraordinaryBirths #FiveYears #WorldRecords https://ugandatoday.co.ug/dashu2/post.php?post=18114&action=edit#