A rare case ... a woman from Mali gives birth to 9 twins instead of 7 in Morocco

A Malian woman gave birth to nine children, more babies than doctors detected inside her womb.

The government of Mali transferred 25-year-old Halima Cissé to Morocco for better care last March, and it was initially believed that she was carrying 7 twins, according to the agency "Agence France-Presse."

Mali's Ministry of Health said in a statement that Cisse gave birth to five girls and four boys by Caesarean section.

"The mother and the babies are fine so far," she added, and they are scheduled to return home within a few weeks.

Cisse was expected to give birth to seven children, according to an ultrasound examination conducted in Morocco and Mali, which did not detect two fetuses.

The birth of nine children is extremely rare, as the medical complications of giving birth to more than one child in this way mean that some fetuses do not complete the pregnancy period.