When Ugandan Mariam Nabatanzi gave birth to her first set of twins, she was just 13 years old.
She had 44 children by the time she was 36, which meant she had to raise them all by herself once her husband departed.
Mariam, has recently learned that she has a rare genetic disease that results in triplets and quadruplets at the moment of pregnancy.
Three times, four times, and six times respectively, Mariam gave birth to quadruplets, triplets, and twins. Amazingly, she takes care of and feeds them all by herself.
Mariam was once forewarned by doctors that birth control pills might not be ideal for her. The children simply «kept coming» following her first set of twins.
Even by these measures, the Mariam family is enormous. The average Ugandan household has more than 5 children, which is one of the highest birth rates in Africa.
Three years ago, Mariam’s last pregnancy ended tragically when one of the twins died after delivery and her husband left her.
However, it wasn’t until after this birth that Mom received the medical attention she required to stop producing children. Dr. Charles
Kiggundu, a gynecologist at a hospital in Kampala, Uganda, described the woman’s situation as a genetically aberrant tendency to hyperovulation.
Mariam is scrambling to take care of every child. She cuts hair, decorates, gathers, and sells scrap metal.
She also performs herbal medicine and produces and sells local gin. Certainly, older kids are helpful. Many of the bunk beds in Mariam’s homes are shared by other youngsters, who lay on floor mats.
Together, the family does the cooking and cleaning, while the older kids watch out for the smaller kids. Mariam claims that in order to provide her kids enough food, she uses 25 kg of cornmeal every day.
For the family, fish and meat are uncommon. She claims, however, that she never gives up and is committed to raising all children with dignity.
