
The human race is capable of some pretty incredible feats, and that definitely includes motherhood. Here, we feature nine amazing outliers in the world of child-rearing. From the oldest mother on the books to the longest pregnancy in history, check out these record-setting moms.
Lesley Brown: First test tube mother ever

The world of pregnancy and motherhood changed forever in July 1978 when Louise Joy Brown was born in Great Britain. Her parents, Lesley and John, had been trying to conceive for nine years without any success, and no doctor could help them until they visited Dr. Patrick Steptoe in 1977. He convinced them to try an experimental procedure in which an egg would be extracted, fertilized, and then placed in a special solution to help it grow. After only two and a half days, it was then placed back into Lesley's uterus, and nine months later she became the mother of the world's first "test tube baby."
Beulah Hunter: Longest pregnancy ever

By the end of nine months, most women are more than happy to get their new little one out into the world. Sometimes, however, Mother Nature has her own ideas. The record for the longest pregnancy that resulted in a live birth belongs to Beulah Hunter, a 25-year-old woman from Los Angeles. When she delivered a daughter, Penny Diana Hunter, in 1945, the child appeared absolutely normal. This shocked her doctor, who stated that Hunter's last menstrual period had been a staggering 375 days prior. An average pregnancy is 280 days, making this an extra three months that Hunter carried her daughter in the womb.
Elisabeth Anderson-Sierra: Most donated breast milk
Most nutritional experts agree that breast milk is the best food to give newborn babies, but some mothers who choose to breastfeed are unable to produce enough to keep their baby healthy. Thankfully, generous mothers around the world step up and donate their excess, which can be frozen, to help them out. While the majority of mothers only make a little more than they need, Elisabeth Anderson-Sierra dedicated herself full-time to donating breast milk. The founder of One Ounce at a Time, Anderson-Sierra is an unofficial world record holder of ounces of breast milk donated, with more than 350,000 ounces of breast milk donated.
Stacey Herald: Smallest mother ever

Born with a genetic condition that stunted her bone growth and lungs, Stacey Herald was told by doctors that her 2'4" frame could never bring a baby to term. She proved them wrong not once, not twice, but three times, bringing to healthy term Kateri, Makya, and Malachai. Two of the three children have inherited the disease, known as osteogenesis imperfecta. Husband Wil, who is 5'9", handled the night changings and feedings, but Stacey was an active and hands-on mother during the day. Sadly, she passed away in 2018 at age 44.
Donna Simpson: Heaviest mother ever

A team of 30 doctors were on-hand to manage the high-risk caesarean section of Donna Simpson, who in 2007 weighed a shocking 532 pounds. Despite the odds against her, Simpson gave birth to a healthy baby girl named Jacqueline. Simpson, at one point, had announced that she wanted to weigh 1,000 pounds. As of 2010, she was reported to weigh 604 pounds, and in 2011, she announced that she would be going on a diet to lose weight.
Mrs. Vassilyev: Most children born

The world may never know the name of the first wife of Russian farmer Feodor Vassilyev, but she certainly made an impact. During the early 18th century, this miraculous mother bore her farmer husband a staggering 69 children (67 of whom survived). Her relentless fertility was written about in several medical journals of the day, and the numbers are unbelievable: 16 sets of twins, seven sets of triplets, and four sets of quadruplets. After her death, Feodor proceeded to marry again, with his new wife giving him an additional 20 kids.
Nadya Suleman: Most surviving children from one birth

The tabloids had a field day with "Octomom" Nadya Suleman, but her record-setting feat of delivering eight babies in one birth has yet to be topped. Suleman had used in-vitro fertilization to give birth to six children previously, but when she found out that she had 12 more embryos in storage, things got crazy. Dr. Michael Kamrava transferred all of them into her uterus at once, and then fertilized them. Eight of those fertilizations came to term, and Suleman delivered the babies in January 2009.
Thomas Beatie: Worldโs first male mother

Gender identity has become a lot more fluid in recent years. Thomas Beatie was born a woman but underwent sexual reassignment surgery to become a man in 2002. He then met and married his wife, Nancy, the next year. Although Beatie wasn't able to produce sperm, he still wanted to have children. Unfortunately, Nancy was infertile, so Beatie had to use his own uterus, still in his body, to carry their children. He's so far the only female-to-male transgender person to do so. He has since given birth to three more children.
Rajo Devi Lohan: Oldest first-time mother ever

While there are unconfirmed reports of women as old as 73 bringing children into the world, India's Rajo Devi Lohan is the oldest mother on record in the world. After receiving a controversial fertility treatment that included in-vitro fertilization at the age of 69, she nearly died delivering her daughter, Naveen, in 2008. Amazingly, this was Lohan's first child โ she had been trying to conceive her entire life, but it wasn't until a clinic took her on as a charity case that she was able to fulfill her dream of becoming a mother.