Woman who gave birth to 69 children in 76 years

Valentina Vassilyev is the world’s “Most Prolific Mother” record holder, having reportedly given birth to 69 children 27 times between 1725 and 1765.

She and her husband, Feodor Vassilyev, from Shuya, Russia, welcomed an impressive 69 children into the world before she passed away at 76 years old.

Valentina was born in 1707 and was Feodor’s first wife. Feodor was a poor peasant.

The Guinness World Records state that Vassilyev gave birth for the first time in 1725 and the last time in 1765. She would have been pregnant for 18 to 40 years before passing away at the age of 76, according to this estimate.

Valentina gave birth to four sets of quadruplets, seven sets of triplets, and sixteen pairs of twins. One set of twins tragically died, but 67 of these bundles of joy surprisingly survived infancy.

There are also current press reports on Vassilyev’s 69 children in addition to the monastery records that Guinness World Records and the BBC have quoted. According to a 1783 article in The Gentleman’s Magazine, Vassilyev’s husband Feodor had 18 additional children with his second wife in addition to the 69 children he had with her.

“In an original letter now before me,” the magazine writer noted, “dated St Petersburg, Aug 13, 1782, O. S. Feodor Wassilief [sic], aged 75, a peasant, said to be now alive and in perfect health, in the Government of Moscow, has had by his first wife 4 x 4 = 16, 7 x 3 = 21, 16 x 2 = 32, 27 births, 69 children. By his second wife 6 x 2 = 12, 2 x 3 = 6, 8 births, 18 children.”

The writer continued: “The above relation, however astonishing, may be depended upon, as it came directly from an English merchant at St. Petersburg to his relatives in England, who added that the peasant was to be introduced to the Empress.”

An English merchant’s second-hand account could seem unreliable by today’s standards of proof. But many contemporary sources, however, also make references to Vassilyev’s numerous children.

One author wrote in a book published in 1834 that “on the day of February 27, 1782, the list from Nikolskiy monastery came to Moscow containing the information that a peasant of the Shuya district, Feodor Vassilyev, married twice, had 87 children.” In 27 confinements, his first wife gave birth to four sets of quadruplets, seven sets of triplets, and sixteen pairs of twins. Six sets of twins and two sets of triplets were born to his second wife throughout eight confinements. At that time, F. Vassilyev was 75 years old and had 82 living children.

Valentina was frequently unidentified, even though Feodor’s name was associated with these tales. Indeed, there is some question as to what her first name was. Furthermore, many people question whether a single lady could produce 69 children, even in light of the sources confirming her pregnancies.