The recent report of a woman allegedly delivering 11 babies in Cotonou, Benin Republic has been met with skepticism by fertility and reproductive health experts, who have labelled it as nothing more than a “tale by moonlight” or a “cock and bull story.”
Responding to the claims, a professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at the University of Port Harcourt and president of the Association for Fertility and Reproductive Health (AFRH) of Nigeria, Preye Fiebai, said the notion is medically impossible. He called the claim “ridiculous” and insisted that such reports should not be encouraged.
“This is one of the most absurd claims I’ve encountered. Medically, pregnancies last no longer than nine months, and delivering 11 babies at once is simply not feasible.
“Twins and even higher-order multiples have been born through In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF), but even in IVF, we strive to limit the number of babies to avoid complications,” Fiebai explained.
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He added that if such an event were true, it would be an extraordinary case worthy of being published in reputable medical journals like The Lancet. “If I delivered a woman with that number of children, I would gladly publish it,” he remarked. “But the story reads like fiction and sensationalism. It’s not something that should be promoted.”
In the same vein, a chief consultant gynaecologist and former secretary-general of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Dr Philip Ekpe echoed these sentiments. He referred to the claim as a “cock and bull story,” asserting that modern medical scans would detect any number of babies, no matter where they are located in the body.
“There is no way a baby or even multiple babies could be inside the womb without being detected by a scan. Whether the baby is inside the brain or inside the bone, the scan would find it,” Dr. Ekpe said.
He speculated that the babies might have been obtained from a baby factory or another dubious source, stating that the couple should be investigated for deceiving the public.
“The whole story is a fabrication. They likely gathered these babies from somewhere. In a functioning society, they would be arrested for such a lie,” Ekpe said.
He further noted that in medical practice, the maximum number of babies delivered safely, usually via cesarean section, is around seven or eight. “To claim 11 babies were born is beyond belief” he concluded.
The father of the babies, Alhaji Yahaya Imam Nafiu, 56, had told LEADERSHIP Weekend that his wife, Mrs. Latoyosi Nafiu, had visited her birth attendant, expecting a routine appointment, but instead experienced something extraordinary.
He said she delivered 11 babies in two separate sequences over 37 days.
According to Alhaji Nafiu, his wife had carried the babies for over three years before finally giving birth under the care of her attendant.
He confirmed that two of the babies did not survive the delivery, but the remaining nine are healthy. He explained that Latoyosi is his third wife, and they already had two children together before these births. His two senior wives have also borne him children.
Contrary to speculation, Nafiu emphasised that the babies were conceived naturally, without the aid of medical technology.
He revealed that the pregnancy had lasted over three years, with the babies delivered in two batches: the first on July 7 and the second on August 15, 2024. Attempts to assess the pregnancy at hospitals were unsuccessful, as doctors were unable to perform a caesarean section, which Nafiu attributed to spiritual forces interfering.
According to Nafiu, the first five babies were delivered by a birth attendant on July 7. However, Latoyosi soon noticed unusual movements in her abdomen, and after a hospital scan, doctors discovered she was still carrying more babies. The attendant was called again, leading to the birth of five additional babies on August 15.
In total, Latoyosi delivered eight boys and three girls, though two of the girls tragically died during childbirth.
Nafiu acknowledged the birth as a divine miracle but also expressed concern over the financial strain the family now faces due to the costs of medical care and other expenses. “We are struggling to raise funds, not just for medical bills but also for marriage rites and a police report,” he added.