Ugandan Woman Has 38 Surviving Children

[HarryPotterFan]

This is unbelievable, a 39-year-old woman, Mariam Nabatanzi, has 38 children. She also has six children who died, bringing the total to 44 (not sure at what ages, though one passed away during birth). She was married off when she was 12 and has given birth to multiples (including quadruplets l) multiple times. Doctors diagnosed her with hyperfertiltiy but claimed birth control would cause health problems because of her unusually large ovaries and crazy ovulation (which sounds like mysoginistic bullshit to me. What about the toll all these multiples take on her body?). Six of her children have died. She’s had a lot of tragedy in her life (mom abandoned the family, step mom killed her siblings). She busts her ass working any job she can to provide for her kids. Her husband left a couple years ago.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-uganda-fertility/ugandan-mum-of-multiple-quadruplets-struggles-to-provide-for-38-kids-idUSKCN1S11JV

https://www.monitor.co.ug/Magazines/Full-Woman/At-37--she-has-given-birth-to-38-children-/689842-3899976-xff7xc/index.html

I haven’t had a chance to watch any of the accompanying videos yet. I’m astounded by what this woman has lived through.

Michelle and JRod must be so jealous. They wouldn’t get how difficult this would be, since they’d pass childcare onto their older children. Mariam’s oldest children help out, but she carried the load. 

Mariam said she hasn’t had any joy since she was born. I don’t know what to say in response. She’s had a hard life.

[JMO]

I saw a video about her that was made a few years ago before her husband was fully gone.  They portrayed her life as more upbeat in that one.  I had wondered how they all survived.  So sad.  

This may have been the video.  There are multiple.

 

 

[AmazonGrace]

Well I can't for the life of me imagine how a condom would hurt her ovaries.

She must have very weird anatomy if condoms can reach up there

[Aine]

23 minutes ago, AmazonGrace said:

Well I can't for the life of me imagine how a condom would hurt her ovaries.

She must have very weird anatomy if condoms can reach up there

One of the reasons Uganda had/has such a high rate of HIV is that religious organizations (like the Catholic church) that provide or fund a lot of the medical care would discourage condom use and definitely weren't handing them out for free. In recent years, Uganda has been one of the countries to make the most progress towards decreasing the numbers of new HIV diagnoses through education and condom use. 

I imagine just "using condoms" if you were married off at 12, not educated about birth control or sex, and are battling to support so many children, then you're unlikely to purchase them even if you can afford them and they are easily available. Clearly she was given poor medical advice from an actual MD about birth control and she sought contraception but even people that are well educated and have financial means often listen to bad medical advice. Also, if your husband is enough of an asshole to desert you for long periods of time while raising all of those children and married a 12-year-old, I'm going to take a shot in the dark and say that she probably didn't have much say in making him wear a condom or even having sexual intercourse in the first place.

What a terribly sad combination of life circumstances for this woman. My heart aches for her. I'm also in awe of her strength and resilience. She appears so committed to caring for her children however she can despite the absence of joy in her life and after she herself was abandoned by her own mother and then her clearly disturbed murderous stepmother. 

Edited May 7, 2019 by Aine
Autocorrect type

[AmazonGrace]

I'm not blaming her, I do, however blame all the assholes who campaign against condoms that would save a lot of lives.

[JermajestyDuggar]

Basically everyone failed this woman (dr, husband, mother) and she’s a total badass in my mind for making the best of a horrible situation. 

Edited May 7, 2019 by JermajestyDuggar

[Aine]

On 5/7/2019 at 2:04 PM, AmazonGrace said:

I'm not blaming her, I do, however blame all the assholes who campaign against condoms that would save a lot of lives.

I didn't think you were blaming her. I took it as a comment on how frustrating the whole situation is from the perspective of someone in developed countries. Even in fundie hell, this woman's life and how she has been treated would not be deemed 'okay' and a fundie woman would have more access to contraception options than Ms. Mariam. It's horrendous that she has had to struggle the way she does when some of her challenges could have been so easily avoided. Clearly her children are now here and she loves them but 38 children as a single mother without a steady income stream is not a situation that should have been allowed to continue with proper medical oversight. 

I commented because my first reading of it was more "duh, get some condoms if you can't get the pill" but then I read it again and realized the intention before I even replied. "Uh... get the husband some condoms!" or "Uh...get this woman who wants it and is asking for it on some damn contraception" really should be that damn obvious. We're still not there yet as a world  

[Toothfairy]

I remember some American Christians going to countries like Uganda and spreading their no sex until marriage and condoms and birth control are sins bullshit..

[Melissa1977]

It's not about condoms or pills. Her fertility is not normal and it's a miracle she's still alive, especially considering Uganda's healthcare system. She should have been offered a definitive birth control solution. No woman deserves the hell of birthing and raising 38 kids in extreme poverty (and even being rich, it must be terrible for body and mind).

Also I have doubts that the kids are healthy themselves. If her triplets and quatruplets are healthy, it's the greatest miracle one could see. Again, considering the quality of healthcare available and the poverty they were raised. All the triplets and quatruplets I know needed therapies and were weak for their first months or even years and it means a lot of money and time investement for the parents.

She's a heroine. She was once a childbride. Has been raped, has suffered more than one can imagine. And still manages to sound sweet talking about her children. 

 

[tabitha2]

I wonder if her grown children are helping her out if they can?  How old is her eldest?

[formergothardite]

2 hours ago, Melissa1977 said:

And still manages to sound sweet talking about her children. 

Despite all she has gone through she manages to still do her best to love and care for all these children. I can't imagine what she has gone through. 

 

[Nikedagain?]

On 5/16/2019 at 7:23 AM, formergothardite said:

Despite all she has gone through she manages to still do her best to love and care for all these children. I can't imagine what she has gone through. 

 

Not gonna lie, I would totally forget the names. Like most of the names...

[Curious]

On 5/16/2019 at 6:44 AM, tabitha2 said:

I wonder if her grown children are helping her out if they can?  How old is her eldest?

I read one of the articles that @HarryPotterFan linked.  It said her oldest (a boy based on the name Ivan) is 23.   He is quoted as saying the olders help out with cooking, washing and watching the littles.

She had 6 sets of twins (her most recent pregnancy was twins where one died making her total children who died 6).  She had 4 sets of triplets and 5 sets of quads.    

Frankly, I'm shocked so many of them survived given that even twin births are more dangerous than a singleton.   

She had her first set of twins at 13 and her youngest at 37.