For any married woman, becoming a mother is considered one of the most joyous experiences of her life, enduring extreme pain to give birth. However, the story of 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐦 𝐍𝐚𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐳𝐢 from Uganda challenges this notion. 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐦, 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐦𝐚 𝐔𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚, holds the record for the most children born among living women, with a staggering 44 children from just 15 pregnancies.

Mariam was born on December 25, 1980. Her mother abandoned her and her five brothers just three days after her birth. Her father remarried, but tragedy struck when her stepmother poisoned their food, killing her brothers. Mariam survived because she was away at a relative’s house.

At the young age of 12, Mariam’s family sold her into marriage. By 13, she gave birth to her first child, and over the years, she had a total of 44 children, although six of them have passed away. Among her 38 living children, she has 20 sons and 18 daughters. Her eldest daughter is 31 years old, while her youngest child is just six years old. Mariam continued to give birth until the age of 40.

The circumstances surrounding Mariam’s numerous births are unusual. Despite only being pregnant 15 times, she had five sets of quadruplets, five sets of triplets, and four sets of twins, along with one single birth. Curious about why she kept having multiple births, Mariam consulted a doctor who discovered that her ovaries were much larger than those of an average woman, a rare condition known as hyperovulation. Unfortunately, surgery or treatment to prevent multiple births was not possible.

Mariam’s life took another difficult turn when her husband abandoned her, taking all the money and leaving her to raise the children alone. Despite these challenges, Mariam persevered, becoming a well-known figure worldwide, as Mama Uganda.

Recently, popular YouTuber Drew Binsky visited Uganda and created a detailed video about Mariam’s family. The video has gone viral on YouTube