She had 69 children in 76 years, and her story still sparks debate.

Children are the flowers of life, but most of us probably never thought of having more than 2 or 3. However, the story tells of a woman who gave birth to 69 children in the 18th century. According to some sources, her name was Valentina Vassilyeva, and she holds the Guinness record as the woman who had the most children.

At the awesome.club We want you to know this incredible story that tests the limits of a woman’s body, and after reading it you will tell how strong a woman can be. We also have a little bonus at the end to bust any myths, so don’t miss out!

Valentina Vassilyeva she was the first wife of a peasant named Feodor Vassilyev from Shuya, Russia. The family lived in the 18th century, between the years 1707 and 1782. Valentina is believed to have died at the age of 76, leaving 69 children, of whom only 2 died very young.

According to Guinness World Records, she was “the woman with the most children in history”, having performed 27 labors: 16 resulted in twins, 7 in triplets and 4 in quadruplets.

Obviously, she didn’t give birth for the entire time of her life. By calculating their “fertile” years, we find that they were approximately between 1725 and 1765. Which gives us as a result 40 years for 27 births🇧🇷 It may seem very at first glance, impossible at second and doubtful at third, so let’s do some math.

Surely you know that an average pregnancy takes 40 weeks. However, the more children a woman has in the womb, that is, multiple pregnancies, the more likely she is to deliver prematurely. According to BBC calculations, Ms. Vassilyeva could have had 37 weeks with twins, 32 weeks with triplets and 30 weeks with quadruplets.

If we add all this together, the result is 936 weeks. A year consists of 52 weeks and, if we do the math, the end result is 18 years. So, Ms. Vassilyeva had to pass 18 full years of your life in a state of pregnancy. Sounds very difficult, doesn’t it?

Although, in theory, Ms. Vassilyeva had had enough time to have all the babies, there are a few more facts to consider.

First, there is the multiple ovulation, when a woman’s body releases several eggs per cycle. Although not the most common (approximately 5-10% of all cycles), there is still a possibility that Valentina is just an isolated case. A very special case, by the way, was it managed to avoid the disappearing twin syndrome: the phenomenon that occurs when one of the twins (or several in the case of multiple pregnancies) is absorbed by the placenta, by the stronger fetus or even by the mother’s own body. The syndrome is quite common in multifetal pregnancies and occurs in 21 to 30% of cases.

Second, pregnancy and childbirth are a challenge for a woman’s body. When the pregnancy has a separation time of less than 18 months in relation to the other, the risk of complications increases for both the mother and the baby. A woman’s body simply doesn’t have enough time to recover from all the changes caused by her previous pregnancy and restore all the nutrients she has lost. Now, if two consecutive pregnancies are already risky, imagine 27, with no time to recover. Third, experts doubt that both the children (and the mother) can survive even with today’s medicine and technology, let alone in the countryside in 18th century Russia. Back then, every pregnancy was a risk. It also tells the fact that they were peasants and had to work and take care of their children at the same time. Oh, and don’t forget food and clothing for all that crowd. Readers who are parents understand perfectly what we are talking about.

Now that you know all the scientific doubts and don’t think this can be true, let us say that there are historical facts that speak in favor of Vassilyev.

There was a list sent by the Nikolskiy monastery to Moscow on February 27, 1782, which showed that Feodor Vassilyev had 82 children alive at that time from 2 marriages. His second wife “met” him with 18 children: 12 twins and 6 triplets. The list data was published in 1834 in the Saint Petersburg Panorama.

In 1783, the Gentleman’s Magazine published an article that included a list about the Vassilyev case.
The list’s author says the “extraordinary fecundity” may be due to “the man, the woman, or both together”, but it is more likely that the reason was Feodor, as history repeated itself with his second wife.

The article in the medical journal The Lancet states that the French Academy of Sciences tried to investigate the case and went to the Imperial Academy in St. Petersburg. The information received was that the Vassilyevs lived in Moscow and received government assistance.

This photograph was used to represent the Vassilyevs, but it is actually a mistake. In this image, you can see the family of Joseph F. Smith, one of the Presidents of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who was married 6 times and fathered 45 biological children and 5 adopted children.

So, which side are you on after reading all this? Do you agree with scientists that it is almost impossible to survive so many pregnancies and still have healthy children? Prefer to rely on historical facts? Or maybe you have your own theory? Share your opinion in the comments. We look forward to hearing from you!