In a rare case, a woman in Uganda has been banned from conceiving any more, after giving birth to 43 children. Mariam Nabatanzi has been dubbed ‘the world’s most fertile woman’ by locals after she managed to give birth to four sets of twins, five sets of triplets and five quadruplets. But, doctors in Uganda have banned Nabatanzi from giving birth to any more children, according to an Al Jazeera documentary.
The single mother, who earlier this year was the subject of an Al Jazeera mini-documentary, works a handful of jobs to take care of her 38 living children. Nabatanzi works as a tailor, hairdresser and herbalist to support her family, and has said that, above all, she wants her children to receive an education.
Dr. Chales Kiggundu, a gynaecologist interviewed in the documentary, said Nabatanzi’s incredible number of pregnancies were the result of hyperovulation, which is when the body releases more than one egg during the menstrual cycle.
The phenomenon increases a woman’s chances of having twins, triplets or quadruplets. “You find that some of the women have the potential of having between 10 to 12 eggs that come at the beginning of the month,” Kiggundu said. “Some of them have the potential to have more than one fertilization take place.”
Nabatanzi has made attempts to stop having children in the past, including using an IUD after her 18th baby was born. However, the device made her so sick that she went into a coma.
Nabatanzi’s very rare and unique situation has attracted both national and international awareness. A group of Christians who prefer to remain anonymous have come together to give aid to Nabatanzi and her children. Supporting them with basic necessities such as school supplies, clothing, food items and other needs until her financial condition improves.