Ultra-Orthodox gran, 42, gives birth to her 20TH child

Unnamed 42-year-old rushed to Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem in Jerusalem
Gran has spent 14 years of her life expecting and has given birth 19 times
But she has 49 more children to go if she wants to beat the world record

By Katie French For Mailonline

Published: 02:29 GMT, 22 December 2017 | Updated: 02:32 GMT, 22 December 2017

An ultra-Orthadox Jewish grandmother has given birth to her 20th child in Jerusalem – but she still has a way to go before she beats the Guinness World Record.

The unnamed 42-year-old was rushed to Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem in Jerusalem after going into labour on Wednesday.

Nurses were left open-mouthed when the unassuming woman revealed she was already a mother to 20 and this was her 19th pregnancy.

The grandmother has spent a total of 14 years of her life expecting and has given birth 19 times, including to one set of twins.

An ultra-Orthadox Jewish grandmother has given birth to her 20th child in Jerusalem – but she still has a way to go before she beats the Guinness World Record (stock image)

But she still has a long way to go if she wishes to beat the current world record which is held by an 18th century Russian peasant woman.

The wife of Feodor Vassilyev (b. 1707–c1782), a peasant from Shuya, Russia gave birth to 16 pairs of twins, seven sets of triplets and four sets of quadruplets.

However this Jewish grandmother is giving her a run for her money, having already spent 14 years of her life pregnant.

Speaking to hospital staff, she admitted her eldest children were now beginning to start families of their own.

Midwife Aliza Altmark told The Times of Israel the woman in preparation for the birth when the mother revealed that she already had 19 children — including one set of twins — from 18 previous births.

The unnamed 42-year-old was rushed to Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem in Jerusalem (above) after going into labour on Wednesday

Altmark said the mother was calm and relaxed and the labor took a few hours, longer than the woman’s previous births.

‘She was very excited about every birth, every child, even the 19th and the 20th,’ Altmark told the newspaper. ‘It also gave me a good feeling. She has sons- and daughters-in-law, and of course she has a lot of help at home.’

The hospital said the baby boy was born naturally and without complications.

The most prolific mother according to the Guinness World Record website was Mrs. Vassilyeva, an 18th-century Russian peasant woman who produced 69 children.

During 27 labors the Vassilyeva gave birth to a remarkable 16 pairs of twins, seven sets of triplets and four sets of quadruplets.

THE WOMAN WHO HAD 69 CHILDREN

Mrs Feodor Vassilyev (b. 1707–c.1782), a peasant from Shuya, Russia was said to have had 16 pairs of twins, seven sets of triplets and four sets of quadruplets.

Numerous contemporaneous sources exist, which suggest that this seemingly improbably story is true.

The case was reported to Moscow by the Monastery of Nikolsk on 27 Feb 1782, which had recorded every birth. It is noted that, by this time, only two of the children who were born in the period c. 1725–65 failed to survive their infancy.

Aside from her fertility, not much is known about the Mrs Vassilyev though it is thought she lived to the age of 76.

The Guinness Book of Records reports this historic record should be taken with a pinch of salt but adds it is conceivable the mother-of-69 could have had a genetic predisposition to hyper-ovulate.

This would have allowed her to release multiple eggs in one cycle which significantly increases the chance of having twins or multiple children.

It is also not impossible for a woman to have 27 pregnancies during her fertile years.

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