Mali Woman Expecting Seven Babies Has Nonuplets Instead

A 25-year-old Malian woman has given birth to nine babies — after doctors told her she was expecting a mere seven.

Halima Cisse delivered five girls and four boys on Tuesday, all of whom survived and are doing well, according to Mali health officials.

All nine came via Caesarean.

Her pregnancy had made national headlines in the West African nation after scans detected seven babies.

Concerned for the infants' slim chances of survival — which is extremely rare with septuplets — the Government stepped in and flew her to specialist care in Morocco, where she spent five weeks at a clinic.

But it wasn't until she actually gave birth did doctors realize they were off — by a whole two babies.

Mali's Minister of Health and Social Development Dr. Fanta Siby congratulated the new nine-time mom, and thanked both the Malian and Moroccan medical teams who worked hard to secure the "happy outcome."

"On behalf of the Government of Mali... [I] wish a long life to the babies and their mother," she said in a statement.

Should all nine survive, Cisse would strip the record from California's Nadya Suleman — AKA Octomom — who gave birth to eight babies in January of 2009. Although with six older children, her brood of 14 is still bigger.

Only two other cases of nonuplets have ever been reported, in Sydney in the 1970s and Malaysia in 1999. Sadly, none of those 18 babies survived past a few hours.