There is perhaps no other holiday in the entire year that is enjoyed and celebrated by people of all ages and backgrounds than Mother's Day.
It is indeed difficult to find anyone who would deny that mothers are/were the most important part of their lives. It must be for a reason that they say "God couldn't be everywhere, so he created mothers".
There are, however, many surprising facts about mothers that you probably did not know. With Mother's Day 2014 arriving, let's take a look at some fun facts about moms that you did not know.
1. Youngest Mother: Have you heard of an individual named Lina Medina? Well, she is the youngest confirmed mother in medical history, giving birth at the age of five years, seven months and 17 days. A 6 ½ pound boy was born to Medina by cesarean section in Lima, Peru in 1939.
2. Oldest Mother: Though there has always been some confusion over who exactly is the oldest mother in the world, there are quite a few women who have given birth at ages that would surprise us. Rajo Devi Lohan, from a remote village of Hisar, Haryana, India, hit the headlines in 2008 when she gave birth to a baby girl named Naveen, following the controversial IVF treatment. Lohan was 70 when she gave birth. Another report claims that Omkari Panwar, also from India, gave birth to twins at the age of 66 in December 2006. She died in 2009. Till then, Satyabhama Mahapatra, a retired schoolteacher in India was the oldest mother when she gave birth to a baby boy in April 2003, at the age of 65.
3. Most Surviving Children from Single Birth: America's Bobbie McCaughey holds the record for giving birth to the most surviving children from a single birth. She gave birth to the first set of surviving septuplets (four boys and three girls) in November 1997, at the University Hospital, Iowa, US.
4. Shortest Interval between Two Births: Jayne Bleackley gave birth to Joseph Robert on 3 September 1999, and Annie Jessica Joyce on 30 March 2000. The babies were born only 208 days apart, setting the record for shortest interval between two children.
5. Longest Interval between Two Children: Elizabeth Ann Buttle holds the record for the longest interval between two children. She gave birth to Belinda on 19 May 1956 and Joseph on 20 November 1997. The babies were born 41 years and 185 days apart.
6. Most Number of Children: The highest ever officially recorded number of children born to a single mother is 69, to the first wife of Feodor Vassilyev (1707-1782) of Shuya, Russia. In a total of 27 confinements, she reportedly gave birth to 16 pairs of twins, seven sets of triplets and four sets of quadruplets.
7. Most Number of Children in Modern Times: In the contemporary world, the world record for giving birth to the most number of children is held by Leontina Albina from San Antonia, Chile, who claims to be the mother of 64 children, though only 55 of them have been documented.
Other General Facts:
8. The odds of a woman delivering twins are 1 in 33. The odds of having triplets or other multiple births are approximately 1 in 539.
9. A woman becomes pregnant most easily at the age of 18 or 19.
10. Ancient Egyptians believed that 'Bast' is the mother of all cats on Earth, and that cats are sacred animals.
11. In the Bible, Eve is credited as the 'Mother of All the Living Things'.
12. In the vast majority of the world languages, the word for 'mother' begins with the letter 'M'.
(Ed: VP)
