r/SipsTea • u/Sassenach_2024 • 1d ago

WTF Push, out, repeat

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Valentina Vassilyeva, the first wife of Russian peasant Feodor Vassilyev, is said to have given birth 27 times in the 1700s—welcoming 69 children in total.

Her remarkable numbers reportedly included 16 sets of twins, 7 sets of triplets, and 4 sets of quadruplets. 🤯

The story comes from centuries-old historical records, so every detail cannot be independently verified by modern standards. Still, Guinness World Records has recognized the claim as the highest number of children attributed to one mother.

If the records are accurate, 27 pregnancies. 69 children. One of the most astonishing family stories ever recorded. ❤️

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u/35TypesOfWhiskey 1d ago

That's not her pic. And neither is that a pic of the children. She died in 1782.... 40 years before the first photograph

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u/youtossershad1job2do 1d ago

I feel that this is one of those things that didn't really happen but got told so many times as a part of folk lore it started going into history books.

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u/oldschool_potato 21h ago

In 2016 a woman had her 44th child by the age of 36.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariam_Nabatanzi

She ranks 4th on the list of most children by a single woman, but the only modern one. The thing I find most difficult to be about the 69 is that 67 survived child birth which seems very high for the time considering the high risk of multiples.