Halima Cissé, 27, spent 19 months in a hospital in Morocco after welcoming the world’s first documented nonuplets. The mum was flown to Morocco for specialist care where they received medical support at the Ain Borja clinic in Casablanca.
There were risks that the babies could have developed health problems because of their premature birth which is why they had to spend the first months of their lives in specialist care. Health risks could include sepsis and cerebral palsy.
The babies and their mum have now safely returned home to Bamako, the capital of Mali after spending their first 19 months in the hospital.
Mum and the babies along with the dad, Abdelkader Arby, are safely at home. Arby thanked the Malian government which he said had assisted the family financially.
“It’s a lot of work but Allah, who gave us this blessing, will help us in their upbringing and taking care of them,” he shared. Health minister Diéminatou Sangara confirmed the government will continue to support the family.
During their stay at the clinic, Arby lived in a ‘medicalized flat’ that belongs to the owners of the Ain Borja clinic. Halima broke the Guinness World Record for the most children delivered in a single birth to survive on 4 May 2021.
She gave birth to five girls and four boys by Caesarean section at 30 weeks. The girls are named Kadidia, Fatouma, Hawa, Adama, and Oumou and the boys are named Mohammed VI, Oumar, Elhadji, and Bah.
The babies weighed between 500g and 1kg at birth. When the babies celebrated their first birthday back in May, Arby said each baby has a unique personality.
“They all have different characters. Some are quiet, while others make more noise and cry a lot. Some want to be picked up all the time,” he told the BBC. “They are all very different, which is entirely normal.”
He added that the babies were all crawling by their first birthday, while some of the nonuplets were sitting up and walking while holding onto something.
