Imagine being told you’re expecting seven babies.
Now imagine doctors discovering that they had missed two more.
That’s exactly what happened to Halima Cissé in 2021 — and what happened next became medical history.
She Was Told There Were 7
Halima Cissé’s pregnancy was already extraordinary.
Doctors in Mali initially believed she was carrying seven babies. Because of the enormous risks involved, she was transferred to a specialist medical team in Casablanca.
But the doctors there made a shocking discovery.
There were nine babies.
Two Babies Were Hidden
The pregnancy was even more complicated than doctors had originally realized.
Specialists discovered that Cissé was carrying nine babies — five girls and four boys.
And all nine would have to be delivered safely.
Then Came the Impossible Birth
On May 4, 2021, Cissé underwent a Caesarean section at 30 weeks.
One baby was delivered.
Then another.
And another.
Nine babies were born that day.
All were extremely premature and required intensive medical care.
Nine Babies. One Mother.
The newborns weighed between roughly 500 grams and 1 kilogram.
Doctors placed them in incubators and worked around the clock to keep them alive.
For the family, the waiting game had begun.
Would all nine survive?
They Spent 19 Months in Hospital Care
The babies couldn’t simply go home after birth.
They needed prolonged medical care and monitoring.
The family eventually spent around 19 months in Morocco before returning to Mali in December 2022.
By then, the nine siblings had become famous around the world.
Then Something Incredible Happened
All nine survived.
That made them the first known surviving nonuplets and earned them a Guinness World Records title.
A pregnancy that had already seemed impossible had produced an even more extraordinary outcome.
Nine Siblings, Five Years Later
The story didn’t end when they left the hospital.
The children continued growing together, reaching developmental milestones and celebrating birthdays as a family.
In May 2026, all nine celebrated their fifth birthday and were preparing to start school.
The Record Still Stands
Nine babies had been born in a single birth before.
But none of those previous nine-baby births had resulted in all nine children surviving.
The Cissé children changed that.
They officially hold the Guinness World Records title for the most children delivered at a single birth to survive.
And It All Started With 7
Doctors thought there were seven.
Then they discovered nine.
Nine babies. One pregnancy. One record that still stands.
