How many babies can a woman have at once?

There's no scientific limit, but the largest reported number of fetuses in one womb was 15.

slate.com - How many babies can fit inside one woman?

Is Stage 3 prostate curable?

Patients with stage III prostate cancer are curable and have a number of treatment options, including external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) with...

Last updated Aug 24, 2018

What happen if we release sperm daily?

Frequent ejaculation will not cause the body to run out. Although it takes the average sperm about 74 days to fully mature, the body makes millions...

Last updated Oct 23, 2020

Promotion

A woman gave birth to octuplets in California Monday after 30 weeks of pregnancy. The six boys and two girls ranged in weight from 1 pound, 8 ounces, to 3 pounds, 4 ounces. How many babies can fit inside a pregnant woman?

There’s no scientific limit, but the largest reported number of fetuses in one womb was 15. In 1971, Dr. Gennaro Montanino of Rome claimed to have removed 15 fetuses from the womb of a 35-year-old woman. The largest number of babies ever delivered was in Australia in 1971, when a 29-year-old women gave birth to nonuplets. They all died. (Decaplets were supposedly born in Brazil in 1946, but that report is unconfirmed.) The largest set of children to be born together and survive—not including this week’s octuplets, who are all still alive—is seven. A set of septuplets born in Iowa in 1997 became the first to survive infancy. At least two more sets of septuplets have since been born and survived. How do so many babies fit in one woman? The limit isn’t so much the number of babies as their volume and weight. In general, once the total weight of the babies inside reaches about 12 pounds, the uterus goes into labor. The greater the number of fetuses, the earlier the labor will occur. (The rough formula for due dates is to start at 40 weeks of gestation for one baby and subtract three weeks for each additional child: 37 for twins, 34 for triplets, etc. It’s remarkable, then, that eight fetuses were able to gestate for 30 weeks, as in the California case.) Labor can also occur if a sac ruptures and introduces bacteria into the uterus or if one of the fetuses isn’t growing correctly and signals the uterus to induce labor. (Scientists still don’t know exactly what causes labor to start.) But for safety reasons, multiple births are often carried out before labor naturally occurs, and almost always by cesarean section. If the uterus gets too big and the fetuses too heavy, it can be difficult for the woman to breathe. The amount of placental tissue can also cause the mother to develop pre-eclampsia, or pregnancy-related hypertension. Don’t the babies get tangled up? Usually not. * Normally, each baby is enclosed in its own amniotic sac, which keeps the various umbilical cords and limbs from getting intertwined. Picture a bucketful of water balloons. In each sac, there’s plenty of fluid—about two-thirds the volume of the fetus—for the baby to move around in. After the sacs break, the babies can get tangled up during birth—so-called interlocking twins—which is why doctors usually opt for cesarean section. It is possible to have monoamniotic twins, or fetuses that share the same sac, with dangerous results: Cords can get compressed or entangled and cut off the babys’ oxygen and food supply.

Got a question about today’s news? Ask the Explainer.

Explainer thanks Joshua A. Copel of Yale University Medical School and Thomas Moore of University of California, San Diego. Correction, Jan. 30, 2009: This article originally stated that fetuses in multiple births always have their own amniotic sacs. ( Return to the corrected sentence.)

When can a baby drink water?

around 6 months old If your baby is around 6 months old, you can offer small amounts of cooled boiled tap water but you should not replace their...

Last updated Oct 20, 2019

How bananas help erectile dysfunction?

Bananas are high in potassium. Bananas also contain lots of flavonoids. Research found that men who had the highest intake of flavonoids over a...

Last updated Oct 12, 2020

Promotion

What age is it harder for men to have kids?

Age and sperm Men younger than 40 have a better chance of fathering a child than those older than 40. The quality of the sperm men produce seems to decline as they get older. Most men make millions of new sperm every day, but men older than 40 have fewer healthy sperm than younger men.

yourfertility.org.au - How Age Matters For Your Fertility

It's a biological fact that as women and men age, their potential to have children decreases, although the exact time when this starts to happen can vary among individuals. We all know someone who had a healthy baby in their late 30s or early 40s. But of all people who try for a baby at a later age, many will not have the baby they hoped to have. Across a population, women younger than 35 and men younger than 40 have a better chance of having a child than people who are older. This is true for natural pregnancies and for pregnancies conceived through assisted reproductive treatments such as IVF (in-vitro fertilisation).

The combination of both partners' ages determines the likelihood of pregnancy.

Do all older men have BPH?

BPH is so common that it has been said all men will have an enlarged prostate if they live long enough. A small amount of prostate enlargement is...

Last updated Jun 16, 2022

How do you know if you have low sperm?

Low sperm count symptoms might include: Problems with sexual function — for example, low sex drive or difficulty maintaining an erection (erectile...

Last updated Aug 24, 2022

Promotion

What is the doctor's oath called?

The Hippocratic Oath The Hippocratic Oath (Ορκος) is perhaps the most widely known of Greek medical texts. Sep 16, 2002

Last updated Dec 5, 2020

Imagine Your Moment Of Freedom!

Fluxactive Complete is conveniently packed with over 14 essential prostate powerhouse herbs, vitamins and grade A nutrients which work synergistically to help you support a healthy prostate faster

Learn More »

Promotion

Is erectile dysfunction common in men over 70?

By 70 years of age, two-thirds of men have ED. ED can be a result of physiologic changes of aging; cultural, social, and psychological factors;...

Last updated Jan 4, 2019