World's first surviving nonuplets, born in Morocco, turn five years old
The world's first known surviving nonuplets celebrated their fifth birthday this week, marking half a decade since a birth that made medical history and drew global attention to a specialized clinic in Casablanca. The nine children were born on May 4, 2021, to Malian couple Halima and Abdelkader, and no previous set of nine babies had ever all survived.
The nonuplets were delivered by cesarean section at 30 weeks of pregnancy, with birth weights ranging between 500 grams and one kilogram. Their mother had begun her prenatal follow-up in Bamako, Mali, before being transferred to the Ain Borja clinic in Casablanca to ensure the level of medical supervision that a pregnancy of this complexity and risk demanded. The case required intensive neonatal care in the children's earliest days, and the coordination between medical teams in both countries drew recognition from Mali's Ministry of Health, which at the time commended the professionalism of practitioners in both nations and extended its wishes for the mother and children's continued health.
Guinness World Records, which had previously recognized the nine children as the first known set of nonuplets to survive infancy, marked the milestone by extending birthday wishes to what it called Mali's miracle nonuplets. The organization's acknowledgment underscored the continued global significance of a birth that had, five years earlier, been considered without medical precedent. Videos shared by the parents this week showed the children growing up healthy and strong, offering the first widely circulated images of the family marking the anniversary.
The birth remains one of the most closely watched events in recent neonatal medicine, combining the rarity of a nine-baby delivery with the successful survival of every child. The case also brought attention to the role of Morocco's medical infrastructure in managing high-risk pregnancies originating in neighboring African countries, with the Ain Borja clinic's capacity to handle an exceptional case attracting regional and international recognition at the time. Five years on, the children's continued healthy development represents both a personal milestone for their family and a lasting marker in the history of modern obstetrics.
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