Photos: Meet the 39-year-old mother of 44 children

Mariam's marriage took place when she was only 12 and her husband was 40.

She is considered to be the world's most fertile woman and is mothering and raising her 44 children on her own.  
Meet 39-year-old Mariam Nabatanzi from Uganda, who has had three sets of quadruplets, four sets of triplets and six sets of twins till now, reports Mirror. By the time she turned 36, Mariam already had a record number of kids, all with the same father. Her husband - who used to keep absent for long stretches - walked out on her around three years ago, leaving Mariam to fend for herself and her family.
Mariam's marriage took place when she was only 12 and her husband was 40. Only a year later, her first set of twins arrived. She visited a doctor and was told that she had "unusually large ovaries". The doctor warned her against taking birth control pills, as they might have a health fallout. Mariam continued to become pregnant and deliver more babies. 
By the age of 23, Mariam had 25 children. She went back to see her doctor. Once again, she was advised to keep getting pregnant because her ovary count was so high, the report points out.
When she got pregnant last time around two and a half years ago, there were complications in her delivery. She gave birth to her sixth set of twins, but one of them died during labour. Her husband left her then. 
Mariam says: "I have grown up in tears, my man has passed me through a lot of suffering. All my time has been spent looking after my children and working to earn some money." The poor woman has tried her hand at everything - from being a hairdresser and event decorator to metal scrap and herbal medicine seller. She has many mouths to feed, but has a limited income. Her eldest child, 23-year-old Ivan Kibuka, dropped out of school to help his mother.
The large family lives in a cramped home in the most deplorable conditions.