Cisse nonuplets mark fifth birthday, celebrate historic survival milestone
The world’s first known surviving nonuplets have reached another remarkable landmark as the Cisse children turned five on Sunday, drawing renewed global attention to a birth that redefined medical possibility.
Born on 4 May 2021, the nine children were delivered to Halima Cisse, a Malian woman, at the Ain Borja clinic in Casablanca, Morocco.
At the time, the birth made international headlines as the first recorded case of nonuplets surviving beyond delivery.
A birth that stunned doctors
The five girls, Adama, Oumou, Hawa, Kadidia and Fatouma, and four boys, Mohammed, Bah, Elhadji and Oumar, were born prematurely at 30 weeks via caesarean section.
Combined, they weighed just 5.4 kilogrammes, an outcome that required months of intensive neonatal care.
Medical teams had initially expected seven babies following ultrasound scans conducted in Mali and later in Morocco. The unexpected arrival of two additional infants reportedly surprised both doctors and parents in the operating theatre.
From fragile beginnings to growing strong
Five years on, the children are reported to be thriving, a sharp contrast to the uncertainty that followed their birth.
In 2022, the nonuplets marked their first birthday after spending nearly a year under close medical supervision, a moment many specialists described as unprecedented.
Their survival surpassed previous records for multiple births, underscoring advances in maternal and neonatal care.
As they celebrate turning five, the Cisse nonuplets stand not only as a family milestone but as a symbol of modern medicine’s expanding frontiers.
Watch the video below…
Happy birthday to the Cisse nonuplets, who turn five today! 🥳
On 4 May 2021, nine children were born to Halima Cisse (Mali) in the Ain Borja clinic in Casablanca, Morocco. This is the first known incidence of nonpulets surviving birth. pic.twitter.com/qIDwCyjoNE
— Guinness World Records (@GWR) May 4, 2026