The Tunisian woman's claim she is pregnant with 12 babies is a farce, a health official has said.
Dr Mongi Hamrouni, head of the ministry's public health department, said he was "more than 99%" sure the woman has a mental problem.
The 30-year-old teacher, who has not been named, claims she is expecting six boys and six girls.
But she has refused to be examined by medical experts, and even her lawyer has cast doubt on the pregnancy. Curiouser and curiouser.
If she was pregnant with 12 babies, it was unlikely any would survive, so perhaps this is for the best.
A regional health official in Gafsa, where the woman lives, said he could not find any medical records of the pregnancy in the local hospital.
And the woman's lawyer, Lotsi Smat, said he doubted her claim because she refused to show him an ultrasound confirming the pregnancy.
Health experts now say the woman may be having a "phantom pregnancy".
This is a rare condition where the woman believes she is pregnant and can even develop symptoms such as a swollen stomach or feeling that a baby is moving inside her. Or 12 babies, presumably.
We'll just have to wait and see what else emerges in this weird tale before we know for sure what's going on.
Source: AP