This is the world record-breaking NINE miracle children born to the same mother. The healthy brood is getting ready to head home.
Halima Cissé beams proudly with her nonuplets five months ago, when she broke the previous world record of ‘Octomum Nadya Suleman, who gave birth in Casablanca to eight children that survived.
Ms. Cisse, 26, spoke exclusively to MailOnline and said that “all of them are getting along very well, are a joy, and are an absolute joy to look after.” They are getting stronger every day and it may well be they are allowed to leave full time medical care soon, so that we can take them home.’
Ms Cisse’s nine natural-born children weighed between 500gm and 1kg at birth. They had to be kept in incubators in the ICU of the clinic, where they were cared for by nurses and doctors throughout their first few months.
They are now all healthy and have gained weight, meaning that they can return to Mali soon.
Halima Cisse, 26, (left) is pictured for the first time with her husband Kader Arby, 35, (right) and their nine babies in Morocco
The baby girls left to right are: Adama, Oumou, Hawa, Kadidia, and Fatouma. The boys are Oumar, Elhadji, Bah, Mohammed VI
There were nine babies in the brood, and four boys were among them. They are all shown here wearing camouflage babygrows at hospital.
Five little girls, all five years old, were among the record-breaking nonuplets. Ms Cisse dressed them in pink and blue babygrows.
Proud parents Ms Cisse and Mr Arby were pictured wearing facemasks earlier in the babies development but were prevented from getting their pictures taking with all nine of their babies because they were still too weak and staying in incubators
Ms Cisse and Kader Arby, 35, celebrated six months of their babies’ first six months by releasing these heartfelt photos that show them together as a family.
The new pictures show the boys – Oumar, Elhadji, Bah and Mohammed VI – in green romper suits bearing the word ‘Brother’ on them.
The girls – Adama, Oumou, Hawa, Kadidia, and Fatouma – meanwhile wear a mixture of pink and baby blue outfits.
All the Arby tots are Malian nationals, and they were last week visited by Djaminatou Sangare, the country’s Health Minister, who worked out how they could be safely flown to Bamako, the Malian capital, which is some two-and-a-half thousand miles from Casablanca.
Parents who are exhausted say that their children are a joy to be around
They were taken from their incubators in early august. Since then, the entire family has been staying in the same flat as the hospital to allow the medical staff to continue monitoring them.
In July, we revealed that Halima was using a staggering 100 nappies per night and six litres worth of milk per day. But she was too tired to care for them and instead spent her time sleeping and watching television. Now her strength is returning.
‘Giving birth to one child is hard enough but having nine is unimaginable,’ said Halima. ‘It’s astonishing the amount of work that is involved in looking after them. I’m grateful to the medical team that are doing all the hard work and the Government of Mali for funding this.’
Halima gave birth via Caesarean section. Her sister, Aisha, was with her, while her husband stayed at their Timbuktu home in Mali.
Describing the birth, Halima said: ‘As the babies were coming out, there were so many questions going through my mind. It seemed like there were endless streams of babies coming out of my head, and I was aware of everything going on.
She added: ‘My sister was holding my hand but all I could think about was how would I look after them and who was going to help me?’
Kader was initially prevented from traveling due to COVID travel restrictions. He finally arrived in Morocco on July 9 after spending ten consecutive days in quarantine.
The care bill so far is approaching the equivalent of £1million, and most it has been picked up by the Malian government.
She almost died due to blood loss during delivery. Doctors estimated that her abdomen, including the babies and amniotic fluid, weighed nearly 30 kg.
He said: ‘Being together as a family is the best thing in the world, and we give thanks to God all the time. The most important thing is that we are all safe and well, and in great hands.’
The couple got married in 2017; they also have a daughter, Souda (two-and-a-half), who is being looked after at home by relatives.
After a difficult start to their lives, they all were born prematurely in May. They had to be closely monitored and all gained weight. Their parents hope that they will soon be able to take them to Mali for full-time medical attention.
The babies were born in the order below: Kadidia 2kg840; Mohammed VI 3kg315, Fatouma 3kg130; Oumar 2kg400; Hawa 1kg585 Adama 2kg720; Bah 2kg900; Oumou 2kg795, El Hadji 1kg870
Kader is a sailor in the Malian Navy and admitted that looking after his family would be financially ‘challenging’.
The couple lives in a three-bedroom house that they share with their ten children.
‘There is plenty of us to worry about, but we are mainly full of positive thoughts,’ said Kader, ‘We are primarily focused on looking after our babies and getting them home. At the moment we have full time care, and that’s a blessing because my wife needs the rest.’
Kader and Halima also feel blessed as they have been receiving ‘tons of messages of support from well-wishers from around the world who post heart-warming comments online.’
Initial information to the couple was that Halima was carrying seven infants by doctors in Mali. They were concerned that there was less than 50% chance any of them would survive.
She spent two weeks in Point G Hospital in Bamako, Mali’s capital, before she was transferred to Morocco thanks to the intervention of Mali’s then President of Transition, Bah N’Daw.
Bah is the name of one of the boys. Another boy is named Mohamed VI in honor of King Mohammed VI.
Kader, who is a devout Muslim, said: ‘My wife is an only child while I have eight brothers and sisters. There is nothing in our family history to explain how this happened other than Allah’s grace. These children are a gift from Him’.
According to Islamic tradition, the names of newborns were revealed seven day after their birth.
The babies were born in the order following: Kadidia 2kg840; Mohammed VI 3kg315, Fatouma 3kg130; Oumar 2kg400; Hawa 1kg585 Adama 2kg720; Bah 2kg900; Oumou 2kg795, El Hadji 1kg870