Reuters
 
Johannesburg, May 20: Over 1,000 pregnant women in South Africa set a new world record on Saturday for the largest gathering of women due to give birth -- and there were no early arrivals.

"We were a little bit concerned having all these pregnant women under one roof, but we are happy that none of them went into labour," said organiser Projeni Pather.

"We had taken measures just in case and had medical teams on stand by and nearby hospitals on alert," the exhibition director for Your Baby Show in Johannesburg said.

The event needed only 100 pregnant women to set the record, but attracted 1,146 which was verified by independent adjudicators to enter the Guinness Book of World Records.

"We are very relieved and happy to have set a world record for the largest number of pregnant women under one roof," Pather said.

Two thousand pregnant mums had pre-registered to take part in the event, but some could not wake up early enough and others might have gone into labour, she added.

Some women were in the early stages of their pregnancy while others were due to give birth in a few days.

"Being here with all these other mums makes you feel special and I am happy to see all these big tummies here," said Marie Dikeledi, whose second child is due in a couple of weeks.

"I did not want to miss any of this even if I was due in a couple of days," she said.

With the success of this first attempt, Pather said they will be challenging other South African cities to beat the record set in Johannesburg. Similar event are expected in Durban and Cape Town in November.