Talk about mind-boggling abilities. If it turns out to be true, this woman was definitely extraordinary.

Currently, the Guinness World Record for most children born to one mother is held by Valentina Vassilyev. Valentina was the wife of Feodor Vassilyev, a peasant farmer from Russia. In her lifetime, she gave birth to 69 babies. She eventually died when she was 766 and between 1725 and 1765, she gave birth to 69 children (16 twin pairs, 7 sets of triplets and 4 sets of quadruplets). Of all these kids, 67 survived, while a pair of twins didn’t.

According to history, Feodor was a farmer in Shuya, Russia in the 1700s. However, it was his wife who grabbed the attention of Guinness. She is recognized as the most prolific mother even after having 6 kids, and she got the record for most births in the process.

The Math Behind 1 Mom And 69 Babies
4 x 4 = 16
7 x 3 = 21
16 x 2 = 32
———-
27 births, 69 children

The first published account about Feodor’s children was seen in an issue of the Gentleman’s Magazine that was released in 1783 (Vol. 53 p. 753, London, 1783). It stated that the information, “although very astonishing, might be depended upon, as it came from a merchant from England in St. Petersburg, who wrote to his relatives and added that the peasant was to be introduced to the Empress”

The same figures were provided by Ivan Nikitich Boltin in his commentary on Russian history in 1788 as well as in Saint Petersburg Panorama, a book written by Alexander Pavlovich Bashutskiy.

Various publications raised doubts about the veracity of these claims. According to an article written by Julia Bell in Biometrika in 1933, a book by B.F.J. Hermann Statistische Schilderung von Rußland in 1790 provided claims about Feodor’s ids, but “with a caution”. Bell also notes that there was a report on the case by The Lancet in a study about tins that was conducted in 1878. The article states that the French Academy of Sciences tried to get verification about these claims and contacted “M Khanioff of the Imperial Academy of St. Petersburg for counsel as to how they could go about it, but they were told that al investigation was superfluous, that the family members still lived in Moscow and got favors from the government.

She concludes that Vassilyev’s case must be regarded with caution ad suspicion. Also, Maria Clay noted in a book in 1998, “Sadly, this investigation, in retrospect, seems to have dealt a blow to our chances of establishing the true facts off this case”

The Guinness Book of World Records has included data about Vassilyev’s children.

Valentina’s 27 pregnancies are definitely astonishing. However, an equally astonishing case is also her husband, who went on to have more kids.

Feodor had 18 other children with his second wife, who had 6 pairs of twins and 2 sets of triplets. In total, Feodor was a father of 87 children. Of all these children, 82 are said to have survived through infancy.

Sadly, there is no confirmed photograph that shows the Vassilyev family. On photograph began to circulate after a weird story, but there has been no confirmation that it depicts Feodor, Valentina and their children. The picture just serves as an illustrative example.