UPDATE: Government can’t find woman, hospital where decuplets were born

A bizarre turn of events has seen the mother of 10 being untraceable by government.

In a statement on Tuesday, Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) director-general, Phumla Williams, said the government had been “unable to verify the authenticity of this birth at our facilities”.

“We need to verify this story and provide assistance where needed,” said Williams.

We have spent a better part of today tracing the story of @IOL of a woman having given birth to 10 babies! @IOL can you please help the public where this birth happened!

— phumla williams (@mirriamp) June 8, 2021

Of course, our joy had to be interrupted. Now we must go to bed, questioning whether we’re buying nappies or not. I’m all for the #NationalBabyShower. It’s a beautiful gesture. We need more moments like this ???? #Love&Light

— Cathy Mohlahlana (@CathyMohlahlana) June 8, 2021

???????????????????????????????????????????? The Guinness World Record baby story may have, urrrrm hit a bump, but you don’t have to… For reliable forecasts on the latest round of BMW gripping Gauteng, ❤️ our Facebook page here: https://t.co/8kkvlwq9lx#NationalBabyShower pic.twitter.com/qsEQyaaORx

— Gauteng Weather (@tWeatherSA) June 8, 2021

Even Lucky Star, the canned pilchards brand, weighed in and offered the woman year’s supply of pilchards.

A whole school of nunu’s!☺️
Congratulations x10 ausi Gosiame & bhut Tebogo! We’ll make sure all of your bundles of joy are well nourished by #ThetasteOfHome.

Here’s a years supply of @LuckyStarSA Pilchards to help bring some omega power into your growing family. Enjoy. pic.twitter.com/r06wtWdiS6

— Lucky Star (@LuckyStarSA) June 8, 2021

Welcoming 10 babies has seen a South African woman break the Guinness World Record previously held by Malian national Halima Cissé who gave birth to nine children in Morocco last month.

According to Pretoria News, Gosiame Thamara Sithole, 37, gave birth to decuplets at a hospital in Pretoria last night.

Here’s what we know about the mom of 12.

• She has two other children, a set of six-year-old twins. That makes 12 children in total.
• Sithole is married. Her husband, Teboho Tsotetsi, is from Tembisa in Ekurhuleni
• She gave birth via C-section at 29 weeks (seven months and seven days)
• Sithole was not on any kind of fertility treatment.

Woman who gave birth to 9 babies ‘doing well’

• Seven boys and three girls make up her 10 babies
• She initially thought she was expecting six children (sextuplets)
• She later thought it was octuplets after a follow-up sonar scan
• She works as a retail store manager

READ NEXT: Twitter reacts to 25-year-old nonuplets Mali mom

Twitter reacts to Gosiame Sithole’s 10 babies

Local South African media reporting that 37-year-old Gosiame Thamara Sithole from Gauteng gave birth to 10 babies (decuplets) last night, setting a new world record.

Read more

Weight put on children is too heavy

This comes barely a month after a woman from Mali gave birth to 9 children in Morocco. pic.twitter.com/wVwUTzdxdk

— Megha Mohan (@meghamohan) June 8, 2021

Brand Hungry Lion jumped on board and offered to help feed the family with a 21-piece bucket of chicken.

So, we’d like to offer Gosiame Thamara Sithole and her family 1x Hungry Lion 21 Piece Bucket every month for a year to help feed this KING-SIZED family. If anyone has their contact details or can put us in touch with them, please send us details! #HungryLikeALion

— Hungry Lion (@HungryLionSA) June 8, 2021

Many were simply shocked at the number of children she welcomed and shared how they would react when put in her position. Others praised her strength for not only being able to carry that many babies for so long but for being able to survive the birth.

Gosiame Sithole blessed with 10 bundles of joy. She set new Guinness World Record #decuplets pic.twitter.com/iW1XbOVRsp

— MALAVIES (@LoveyMashego) June 8, 2021

Gosiame Thamara Sithole 37 Year Old
Gauteng Woman From Tembisa Has
Given birth to her decuplets (10 babies – 7 Boys & 3 Girls.)

Tea Ya ZCC E ntho esele maan. pic.twitter.com/O7kNPdKkko

— Lady_L Mabuza???? (@_LeratoMabuza) June 8, 2021

When we talk about Superwomen, Imbokodo we are talking about Gosiame Thamara Sithole ???????????????? modimo le badimo be Tshegofatse le lapa la gagwe ???????????????? #GuinnessWorldRecord #GosiameSithole

— Kea (@KgosigadiKea) June 8, 2021

The Guinness World Records history of record-breaking births

Guinness’ most recent entry regarding the most children delivered at a single birth to survive, updated in April 2021 still lists US citizen Nadya Suleman as the record holder.

Suleman gave birth to six boys and two girls on 26 January 2009.

“The babies were conceived with the aid of In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) treatment and were nine weeks premature when they were delivered by Caesarean section,” wrote Guinness.

Not only did the feat earned Suleman celebrity status, she also got the nickname “Octomom”, often used in the US media.

This story has been updated to reflect current developments.