Hoax - Indian Woman Gives Birth to Eleven Babies at Once

Outline
Circulating message claims that a woman in India has just broken the world record after giving birth to eleven babies at once. The message includes a photograph depicting eleven babies with a medical team.

Brief Analysis
The claims in the message are false. One woman did not give birth to all eleven babies as claimed. The picture depicts eleven babies from different mothers born on the "unique date" 11/11/11 in Surat, India.

Detailed analysis and references below example.

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Last updated: 8th February 2012
First published: 8th February 2012
Article written by Brett M. Christensen
About Brett Christensen and Hoax-Slayer

Example

An Indian woman has just broken the world record after she gave birth to eleven babies at once. Congratulations :-)

Detailed Analysis
According to a message that is currently circulating rapidly via social media posts and email, a woman in India has just broken the world record for multiple births by giving birth to eleven babies at the same time. The message is accompanied by a photograph depicting eleven babies laid side by side on a hospital trolley with a team of doctors and nurses looking on. The message has also been posted to various "news" sites, including Zambian News and Entertainment website Tumfweko

The photograph itself is genuine. However, it does not depict eleven babies born from the same mother. In fact, the photograph shows eleven babies all born on the "unique date" 11/11/11 in the Indian city of Surat. The same photograph can be viewed on the Afternoon Dispatch & Courier website along with the following caption:

INDIA’S TEAM-11 ON 11-11-11...Hospital staff showing 11 babies born on unique date 11/11/11 in Surat on Friday.

More pictures of the babies can be seen on the Nadkarni IVF blog which notes:

11 LSCS deliveries at our 21st Century Hospital & Test Tube Baby Centre-Surat and more at Killa Pardi & Vapi (at Nadkarni Hospital & Test Tube Baby Centre & 21st Century Hospitals Pvt. Ltd.) on 11.11.11 and all Test Tube Babies…A world record.

And a Times of India news article provides more information, noting:

SURAT: A city-based In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) centre will undertake operations on 11 would-be mothers to schedule the births of their babies on Friday, 11-11-11.

About 30 women had conceived through IVF nine months ago at the 21st Century Hospital in the city. Of them, 11 couples wanted the delivery of their babies on the special date.

Moreover, there are no credible news or medical reports about such a multiple birth. Records indicate that the highest number of babies born to one mother at the one time is nine (Nonuplets). In 1971, a woman in Australia gave birth to 9 babies. None of the babies lived more than six days. Then, in 1999, a woman in Malaysia also birthed 9 babies, but all died within 6 hours of birth.

Last updated: April 10, 2013
First published: February 8, 2012
By Brett M. Christensen
About Hoax-Slayer

References
STRANGE !!! WOMAN Gives BIRTH To 11 Baby Boys At ONCE
INDIA’S TEAM-11 ON 11-11-11
11.11.11
11 LSCS deliveries on 11.11.11
1 IVF babies to be delivered on 11-11-11 in city
List of multiple births