Gosiame Sithole, a woman from Gauteng, South Africa reportedly gave birth to 10 babies (decuplets) in a single day. As the woman and this news went viral, authorities from Gauteng were quick to point out that this was nothing but speculation, and that an investigation was underway.
The report published by Pretoria News was later carried forward by several local and international news websites too.
Gosiame allegedly gave birth to the babies on 7 June, and a statement was released by the Gauteng Province's official Twitter handle on 9 June. Finally, on 23 June, the Gauteng Government confirmed that the news was false, and that Gosiame had not delivered any babies at all.
In fact, Gosiame was not pregnant at all. The statement also showed its concern for editor of Pretoria news, Piet Rampedi, and said, "The Gauteng Provincial Government is deeply concerned by the conduct of the Independent Media, particularly the editor of Pretoria News, Mr Piet Rampedi."
The statement also mentioned that the provincial government would "continue to give medical, psychological, and social support to Mrs Sithole, and provide any counselling she might require."
Check out the full statement here:
The editor of Pretoria News, Piet Rampedi, has also issued an apology to the Independent Media group and his colleagues for his lapse in judgement and failure to verify the facts of the story. However, he still stands by the fact that Sithole was pregnant.
"I am sorry for the reputational damage the aftermath of the story has caused for the group, the company and my colleagues in general. I am fully aware that the story, and the general response, put all my colleagues in an awkward position and under immense public pressure," he wrote.
He also added that the news was one of celebration for him, which is why he didn't treat it as an investigation. He also saw no reason for the family to lie to him.
Here is the first statement from the government from 7 June when an inquiry was started into the matter.
It says, "None of the hospitals in the province, public and private, have any records of such a delivery in their facilities."
Here is what happened before the official announcement broke:
Gosiame Thamara Sithole, a 37-year-old woman from Gauteng, South Africa allegedly birth to 10 babies, setting an apparent Guinness World Record.
Gosiame and her husband, Teboho Tsotetsi were initially told that she would deliver six babies (sextuplets). After a while, they were told that there would be eight babies, and Gosiame finally ended up delivering 10 through C-section.
In a statement to Pretoria News, Gosiame had apparently said, "I am shocked by my pregnancy. It was tough at the beginning. I was sick. It was hard for me. It’s still tough but I am used to it now. I don’t feel the pain anymore, but it’s still a bit tough. I just pray for God to help me deliver all my children in a healthy condition, and for me and my children to come out alive. I would be pleased about it."
Earlier, the record for most babies birthed was held by a Moroccan woman by the name of Halima Cisse who gave birth to nine children last month.
Gosiame's husband Teboho was also quoted, "It’s seven boys and three girls. She was seven months and seven days pregnant. I am happy. I am emotional."
When questioned about the confusion regarding the number of babies, Gosiame said that the actual number could not be detected initially because they were in the wrong tube.
Professor Dini Mawela, deputy head of the school of medicine at the Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, said that this case was highly unusual since Gosiame was not even on a fertility treatment, where usually such instances occur.
"It’s quite a unique situation. I don’t know how often it happens. It’s extremely high risk (pregnancy). It’s a highly complex and high-risk situation. The danger is that, because there is not enough space in the womb for the children, the tendency is that they will be small. What would happen is that they would take them out pre-term because there is a risk if they keep them longer in there. The babies will come out small, chances of survival compromised. But all this depends on how long she carried them for," said the Professor.
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