Woman gives birth to 18th child

TEHRAN (AFP): A 48-year-old Iranian woman who married at the age of 12 gave birth to her 18th child this week, a newspaper reported Thursday.

Esmat Ashrafian, married to a farmer in the village of Ghale- Maraghush in northwestern Iran, now has 10 daughters and eight sons, the Kayhan daily said without indicating the sex or birth date of the latest child.

Ashrafian's oldest child is a 32-year-old woman and she also has 10 grandchildren.

The paper said that Ashrafian was living an economically "difficult life" but was in perfect health.