South African woman's claim to have delivered 10 babies not verified

Update | June18 , 2021 : On June 15, the Tsotetsi family released a public statement concluding that no decuplets were born to Gosiame Thamara Sithole and her husband Tebeho Tsotetsi. "The family has resolved and concluded that there are no decuplets born between Tebeho Tsotetsi and Gosiame Sithole, until proven otherwise and wishes to apologise for any inconvenience and embarrassment," the family said in the statement.

Meanwhile, Peit Rampedi, the journalist who broke the story, also tweeted videos in which Sithole insists that she delivered ten babies at Steve Biko Academic Hospital. So far, there is no photo of the babies or hospital confirmation to back Sithole's claims.

Hence, as this fact-check article highlights, the South African woman giving birth to 10 babies is not verified.

Below is the story that was published on June 10.

Gosiame Thamara Sithole, a woman from South Africa, has reportedly given birth to 10 babies -- seven boys and three girls. This could break the existing Guinness World Record for most babies delivered at a single birth to survive, reported Pretoria News.

“It’s seven boys and three girls. She was seven months and seven days pregnant. I am happy. I am emotional. I can’t talk much. Let’s talk again in the morning please,” Teboho Tsotetsi, Gosiame’s husband, was quoted by Pretoria News.

Sithole's doctors had earlier detected eight babies in the scan, according to Tsotetsi.

Sithole is said to be in good health. She was quoted by Pretoria News a month ago, saying her pregnancy was "tough at the beginning" with sleepless nights worrying about her babies.

A family member, who wished to stay anonymous, told BBC that Sithole had five of the 10 babies via natural birth and 5 via C-section.

BBC has reported that Guinness World Records is investigating the incident.

Currently, the Guinness World Record for most babies delivered at a single birth is held by Nadya Suleman, a woman who gave birth to eight babies -- six boys and two girls -- in 2009 in the United States.