Mariam Nabatanzi Babirye was 12 years old when her father married her off to a man much older than her. In return, her family received cows and goats.
She says she was there when the animals arrived and didn’t know they were her dowry. The following year, at 13, she gave birth to her first twins. She never went to school and doesn’t know how to read or write.
Doctors attribute what followed to genetics and hyperovulation: her body released several eggs at a time. A medical condition prevented her from using contraceptives. More twins, triplets and even quadruplets followed, with four babies born at a time. In total, she had 44 children. Six died and 38 are still alive.
In her village of Kasawo, Uganda, it seemed normal to her: her own father had 45 children with different wives.
In 2015, her husband left, unable to support such a large family. Since then, Mariam has supported her family on her own. They need 10 kilos of maize, 7 of beans and 4 of sugar every day.
Today, they call her Mama Uganda and describe her as the most fertile woman in the world. But before the record-breaking number, there was a 12-year-old girl.