Just a year ago, the world’s first nonuplets were born in Mali. This Wednesday, May 4, they celebrate their birthday: the chance to meet Souda, their big sister, for the first time.
An exceptional birth
On May 4, 2021, Halima Cisse was giving birth Caesarean section in a private clinic in Casablanca. Transferred to Morocco because of her risky pregnancy, she gave birth to nine children, much to everyone’s surprise: the various ultrasounds suggested they would be seven. This exceptional birth was very risky for the mother, as well as for the non-uplets born after six months of gestation. A year later, everyone is doing well.
The whole family
The toddlers, 5 girls and 4 boys, are the pride of Mali: we talk about the ” national babies “. Today, “they discover the joys of exploring on all fours RFI tells us, and some even run away and try their first steps† †
On this first birthday, they receive a beautiful gift: Souda, their three-year-old big sister, comes to visit for the first time. The little girl had stayed with her father in Timbuktu while her mother was hospitalized in Casablanca.
“It was a moment of joy and stress for her at the same time.e. She wanted to smile, but was also stressed to see them together. Mashallah (Editor’s Note: Praise be to God), it was very very beautiful. †
Souda’s father quoted by RFIA
This extraordinary family is happily moving on, thanks to the exceptional help of the Malian government: the authorities had authorized the transfer of Halima to Morocco a year ago amid the Covid 19 epidemic. An entire team of Malian and Moroccan doctors is mobilized to help the mother care for her nine children.
“Until now, the parents have always been helped. There are nurses who come to help them, because taking care of nine babies at once is not easy. It’s very difficult. It’s a lot, a lot of work. You have to feed them, cuddle them. If they are sick, you have to follow them. Nine, it’s really not easy. †
Pediatrician Khalid Mseif, quoted by RFI
While the father, a professional soldier, has to return to Mali in a few weeks, the rest of the family plans to stay in Morocco for another year.
As the Malian crisis continues, there are nine healthy children to remind us that, in times of war or peace, life goes on!