10 World's Oddest Mothers

1. Mother of Most Surviving Children From a Single Birth (8 babies)

Nadya Denise Doud-Suleman Gutierrez, known as Octomom in the media, is an American woman who came to international attention when she gave birth to octuplets in January 2009. The Suleman octuplets are only the second full set of octuplets to be born alive in the United States and, one week after their birth, surpassed the previous worldwide survival rate for a complete set of octuplets set by the Chukwu octuplets in 1998. The circumstances of their high order multiple birth have led to controversy in the field of assisted reproductive technology as well as an investigation by the Medical Board of California of the fertility specialist involved. Public reaction turned negative when it was discovered that the single mother already had other six young children at home at the time and was not financially independent. Suleman, who was unemployed and on public assistance programs at the time, conceived the octuplets and her six older children via in-vitro fertilization.

2. World's Youngest Mother (5 years old)

Into the hospital at Pisco (Peru) came a tired, ragged Indian woman from the foothills of the Andes. She led by the hand a shy little girl, scarcely three feet tall, with chestnut braids and an enormously bulging abdomen. Pointing to the frightened child, the Indian woman begged surgeon Geraldo Lozada to exorcise the evil spirits which had taken possession of her. Certain that little Lina Medina had an abdominal tumor, Dr. Lozada examined her and received the surprise of his life when he discovered she was eight months pregnant.

Dr. Lozada took her to Lima, the capital of Peru, prior to the surgery, to have other specialists confirm that Lina was in fact pregnant. A month and a half later, on May 14, 1939, she gave birth to a boy by a caesarean section that was needed due to her small pelvis. Her son weighed 2.7 kg (6 lb) at birth and was named Gerardo after her doctor. Gerardo was raised believing that Lina was his sister, but found out at the age of ten that she was his mother.

3. World's Oldest First Time Mother (70 years old)

Meet Rajo Devi Lohan, the Indian woman who, in November 2008, gave birth to her first child - at the age of 70. She said she had waited for more than 40 years for this child and that she plans to breastfeed her for at least three years. And, who knows, maybe she will.

4. The Mother With the Most Births (69 kids)

Feodor Vassilyev (1707-1782), was a peasant from Shuya, Russia. Though not noteworthy himself, his first wife, Valentina Vassilyeva, set the record for most children birthed by a single woman. She gave birth to total of 69 children; however, few other details are known of her life, such as her date of birth or death. She gave birth to 16 pairs of twins, 7 sets of triplets and 4 sets of quadruplets between 1725 and 1765, in a total of 27 births. 67 of the 69 children born survived infancy.

The modern world record for giving birth is held by Leontina Albina from San Antonio, Chile. Now in her mid-sixties, she claims to be the mother of 64 children. Of these, 55 are documented.

The mother with the greatest number of kids that are not tiwns is Livia Ionce. This Romanian woman, 44, gave birth to her 18th child in Canada in 2008.

5. World's First Male Mother

Thomas Beatie, who was born a woman but lives as a man in Oregon after surgery and hormone treatment, was the first man to become a mother. Beatie, 34, who is legally a man but kept female reproductive organs when he had a sex-change operation 10 years ago, made headlines around the world and was dubbed the "pregnant man" before giving birth to a baby girl on June 29. After giving birth he did not go back on the male hormone testosterone that he took after his sex change, because he wanted to have another baby. Beatie's wife, Nancy, 46, whom he married five years ago, was unable to conceive because of a prior hysterectomy. That is why he had a baby himself, through artificial insemination using donor sperm and Beatie's own egg.

6. World's Oldest Mother of Twins (70 years old)

She was utterly determined to have a son. The fact that to do so would make 70-year-old Omkari Panwar the world's oldest mother didn't even cross her mind. Her resolve was matched by her husband Charan Singh Panwar, 77. To pay for the IVF treatment vital to producing a male heir to the family's smallholdings, the retired farmer sold his buffalos, mortgaged his land, spent his life savings and took out a credit card loan. And it all paid off when Mrs Panwar gave birth to twins - a boy and girl - by emergency aaesarean section in a hospital in Muzaffarnagar, seven hours drive north of the Indian capital New Delhi.

The twins, born a month premature and weighing 2lb each, are healthy, according to doctors. The Panwars already have two adult daughters, and five grandchildren.

7. World's Most Prolific Surrogate Mother (12 babies)

Surrogate mother Carole Horlock, 42, has delivered 12 babies in 13 years - including triplets, setting the world record for the most prolific surrogate mother. She told the ABC News program "20/20." : "When I first started being a surrogate I expected to do it once," she said. "I hadn't looked past that. But I enjoyed it so much. Before I actually had given birth to the baby I wanted to do it again." Surrogates receive an average $25,000 to $30,000 for their services, "20/20" said. The downsides include in-vitro fertilization, morning sickness, bed rest, Caesarean sections and stretch marks.

Horlock will make no demands on the parents of the triplets beyond requesting an annual letter and photograph to let her know how they are doing. But her surrogacy experiences have not all been positive. Her father rarely speaks to her, distressed that she is effectively giving away his grandchildren.

8. World's Smallest Mother (2ft 4in)

The world's smallest mother is about to give birth for the third time - despite warnings she is risking her life.

Stacey Herald, who is just 2ft 4in tall, was told that becoming pregnant could kill her, but bravely defied doctors to have two babies half her height. The 35-year-old from Dry Ridge, Kentucky in the U.S. suffers from Osteogenesis Imperfecta, which causes brittle bones and underdeveloped lungs, and means she failed to grow. Mrs Herald, who uses a wheelchair, and her husband Will, who is 5ft 9in, are eagerly awaiting the birth of their third baby, due in the next four weeks.

Currently as wide as she is tall, she cannot hold her daughter because her belly gets in the way, and has to rely on her husband to do most things around the house. She admits being pregnant is ‘uncomfortable' and leaves her bedridden for weeks on end. By the time the new addition, a boy, is one, he will already tower over his mother. But despite all the obstacles, the mother and father, a trainee priest, say they want even more children. The couple met in 2000 while working for a supermarket in their home town.

Note: the photo pictured above features Cristianne Ray, world's second smallest mother. Ray stands at 2 feet 9 inches tall and gave birth to a healthy baby named Kyrsten Bowden. (Thanks, Megan).

9. Mother of the World's Tinniest Baby

Mahajabeen Sheikh gave birth to Rumaisa Rahman on September 19 2004 at Loyola University Medical Center. The baby weighed just 8.6 oz and was only 10 inches long and replaced Madeline Mann, born in 1989, as the world's smallest baby. At 1.3 ounces smaller than Madeline Mann, Rumaisa Rahman weighed less than a can of beer. She was born just 25 weeks and six days into her mother's pregnancy.

She had a twin, Hiba, who weighed 1 pound 4 ounces at birth. Rumaisa, who lives with her parents and twin sister, Hiba, in Hanover Park, weighed only 8.6 ounces at her birth but now weighs a healthy 15 pounds, said officials at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood.

10. Mother With the Longest Interval Between Kids (41 years)

Elizabeth Ann Buttle had two kids, Belinda and Joseph, which is nothing special in itself. Belinda Buttle was born on May 19, 1956 when Elizabeth Ann Buttle was 19. The amazing part is the interval between the birth of Belinda and Joseph, it is the longest interval between births ever.

Joseph Buttle was born on November 20, 1997 when Elizabeth Ann Buttle was 60, an interval of 41 years 185 days. If you're familiar with the song 'I am my own grandpa!', well, Joseph's sister was old enough to be his own grandma!