Woman, 44, Gives Birth to 18th Child

A Romanian immigrant has given birth to her 18th child in British Columbia, making her the province's most prolific mother in 20 years.


Darryl Dyck, CP / APBritish Columbia resident Livia Ionce, 44, here with her family, gave birth to her 18th child on July 22. The Romanian immigrant's feat makes her the province's most prolific mother in 20 years.

Proud dad Alexandru Ionce said Saturday that his 44-year-old wife, Livia, gave birth on Tuesday. Their daughter Abigail weighed in at seven pounds, 12 ounces.

"We never planned how many children to have. We just let God guide our lives, you know, because we strongly believe life comes from God and that's the reason we did not stop the life," said Alexandru Ionce.

The couple immigrated to Canada from Romania in 1990 and now live in Abbotsford, British Columbia. Their 17 other children range in age from 20 months to 23 years old.
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