Help me out - What is the record for most children by one Mother (1 Viewer)

[DanaA]

I was trying to tell someone today about something I read about one woman, I think in South America, who bore 54 or 56 children or something like that. I did a Google search, but couldn't find it. Am I insane or does anyone else have this information?

 

[Kevin P]

I think *SHE'S* insane! Assuming no multiple births (i.e. only one baby per pregnancy), she would have to have been pregnant for 42 years straight!
KJP

 

[DanaA]

I think there were a bunch of multiple births. I just can't remember the details. I saw it on Dateline or something a few years ago and it's driving me nuts.

 

[Max Leung]

I tried searching the Guinness Book of World Records website, but no luck. They don't have all the records there, only in the book.

 

[Ross Williams]

I wouldn't know where to look for the info, but I do remember reading about it. If I remember correctly, she was Russian and had a number in the 50's. Mostly multiple births, something like, 2 sets of quintupletes, 3 sets of quadruplets, 5 triplets, 5 twins and a couple by themselves. Whatever it was, it's completely insane. How did the woman's body handle it? Why did they keep having more? Isn't 20 or 30 enough?!

 

[Danny Tse]

I think Ross is right. I remember hearing about it recently....Russian, in the mid 1800's, husband was farmer, etc....

 

[Jason Handy]

...and there was something about not having cable TV...

 

[DanaA]

Well, that does it. I must be nuts. I just could have sworn there was a small woman in South America that had this ton of kids. I can almost imagine her face. It looked very worn. She was in her 50's and looked a lot older. They lived a very poor life by U.S. standards and I kept wondering how they would work out the bathroom situation, getting breakfast out, getting everyone up and dressed and every thing. I've done google searches, tried Guiness, but to no avail. I thought for sure someone at HTF would have remembered it, but, right now, I'm not even sure I wasn't imagining the thing myself. I'm a very frustrated man. :b

 

[andrew markworthy]

I thought it was a number in the 50s, but in fact:

the world record is held by Mme. Vassilyev in Shuya Russia. She has since passed away, but she had 69 children during her lifetime, including 16 sets of twins, 7 sets of triplets, and 4 sets of quadruplets. Only two of these children died in infancy, so the 67 living children still hold the world record.

reference: http://gateway.library.uiuc.edu/ugl/qb/social_bot.html
Brings a whole new meaning to 'Mother Russia' doesn't it?

 

[DanaA]

:b Gulp!!!

 

[Charles J P]

Damn, I mean even if her kids had 3 kids each, she would have over 200 grandchildren. Now, say her kids each had the same number of kids she did and they all survived she would have over 4600 grandchildren

 

[Agee Bassett]

DanaA: The currently living record-holder may be the woman you were thinking of:

The living woman with the most children: Leontima Abina of San Antonio, Chile, bore 55 children, which includes five sets of triplets (all boys).

A search yielded some more startling pregnancy/birth-related records data here.

 

[Adil M]

(poor taste joke)You could drive a MACK truck through there!

 

[DanaA]

Thank you Agee,

I knew somewhere in the back of my mind, there was someone in South America that had something like that. Now, I'm thinking 69 babies and am dumbstruck. Both are absolutely beyond comprehension. How do you even remember their names, especially with so many twins? We're talking about a birthday party every 5 days or so, with 4-5 of them on single days for the quads and quints.