Woman Pregnant With 12? Officials Doubtful

(CBS/AP)  Tunisian authorities are investigating a claim that a woman in Tunisia is pregnant with 12 babies.

French and British media reported the woman will soon give birth to six girls and six boys.

If true, the woman would shatter the world record for births, set earlier this year by American Nadia Suleman, whose birth of octuplets launched a media frenzy and earned her the nickname "Octomom."

But a Health Ministry official in Tunisia said Tuesday the claim seemed doubtful and that the woman - who has not been identified - has refused to see a doctor for an ultrasound.

Another Health Ministry official said a team was sent to the southern town of Gafsa to try to meet the woman.

The officials, not authorized to speak publicly about the case, asked not to be named.

According to the Sun, the woman - a teacher - and her husband were expecting twins after undergoing fertility treatments.

"But more fetuses were discovered. Our joy increased with the growing number," the Sun quotes the husband, identified only as Marwan, as saying.

The nature of the fertility treatment - whether it was in vitro or a procedure called ovulation induction treatment - isn't known, according to the Sun.

[puzzler125]

Oh yes, everything is President Obama's fault...NOT! You silly people should remember and admit that this kind of stuff was fodder for news when the internet first started and will still be around when we're long gone.

[rf35]

CBS...come on guys. Don't publish a story until you have a story. A woman MIGHT be prego with 12 fetuses. And purple monkeys MIGHT come flying out of my nose tomorrow. Why don't you do a story on that? And if she hasn't had an ultrasound, how did she figure out she's having 12 babies?

If it is true, I doubt most, if any, will survive. The body is designed to carry one baby at a time. It can handle 2 or even three in a pinch. More than that, and the likelihood of survival drops. They are usually born way too soon due to the simple fact that the body doesn?t have enough room to hold them until they are developed enough to live on their own.

Fertility treatment should be illegal. In this overpopulated world, people who can?t have babies naturally should be given priority in the adoption process but should not try and force their bodies into having babies anyway. There are plenty of little consumers out there who need homes.

[Snowhare]

There was exactly ONE comment here that didn't depress me.

CBS, yes, I have read the article and the comments.
However, please don't pretend this summer is as devoid of news as we usually say. Please don't fill a gap that doesn't exist!

Stop "reporting" stuff like this and get on to the important stuff like: the situation of the opposition in Iran, the real background of the vanished "Arctic Sea", or the origins of all the lies about healthcare reform!

Make a difference instead of reporting such unimportant BS!

[barbaram99]

1 child per family. In this day it foolish and selfcentred to have large familes. It cost to have,feed,clothe,housed,educate children.People need to It is 24/7. One child. These are hard times. 12 babies. Baby crazy and dumb docs. Birth control..

[RMK4211]

why should people only have one child per family? thats stupid, if they can afford to feed, clothe, educate and house 2 or 3 or 4 then they should be more than welcome to do so. I agree people that cannot provide for their own children on their own should not have children to begin with but if they can then no limit should be set

[Resin-Smoker]

Great!!! Just what we needed in our little world of excess, denial, and shier lack of global responsibility... Another 12 bodies that in all probability will die or end up costing somebody else allot of good money for no good reason at all.

The doctors involved must be held criminally liable for this as well as for thier apparent lack of ethics thinking that they could play god!

[barbaram99]

12 babies. Us ladies have two breasts. That is for twins. It is appalling. I had myself fixed as I did not want to have children for health reasons. I did step up to the plate and was sterilised as I had to DEMAND it as single woman. They need to ban the treatments that cause multi births. Babies to replace us. It means 1 or 2 children. I was told this in the foster home by my foster mother when I was a teen. * Barbara ye have no business haveing children ye can't raise,give a home to,give them the basics ete.*I am grateful for that advice. Girls in my day were groomed for babies. There are women who can't have children. Some women are baby crazy.This woman carrying 12 babies is tearing down her system and the babies will be so tiny. I am 54 and born too early. The chuch won't allow birth control, It may come down to system of 1 or 2 childrem per family.

[barbaram99]

12 babies. Us ladies have two breasts. That is for twins. It is appalling. I had myself fixed as I did not want to have children for health reasons. I did step up to the plate and was sterilised as I had to DEMAND it as single woman. They need to ban the treatments that cause multi births. Babies to replace us. It means 1 or 2 children. I was told this in the foster home by my foster mother when I was a teen. * Barbara ye have no business haveing children ye can't raise,give a home to,give them the basics ete.*I am grateful for that advice. Girls in my day were groomed for babies. There are women who can't have children. Some women are baby crazy.This woman carrying 12 babies is tearing down her system and the babies will be so tiny. I am 54 and born too early. The chuch won't allow birth control, It may come down to system of 1 or 2 childrem per family.

[underdogcity]

I'm tired of hearing about multiple baby births that break world records. How about these greedy and foolish people start caring about the health and welfare of each individual child. I'm no doctor, but I believe the chances of all of them surviving, especially without any physical or mental problems will most likely be a miracle...not a world's record!

[signseeker1717]

The Sun (a source for this story) is also running a story today on UFOs; it is the British equivalent of the National Inquirer. The BBC is NOT reporting this story. Just something to think about...

[nirak2-2009]

She can always move to the States with her litter and get a Reality Show like Octumom and Jon and Kate.