A woman who said she is pregnant with a record-breaking 12 babies has been exposed as a fraud, according to reports.

Health officials in the woman's home country of Tunisia have investigated the claims and concluded that she "has psychological problems and is unlikely to even be pregnant," Britain's Daily Telegraphreports.

"Our staff interviewed her at length, but even her pregnancy appears to be in her imagination," a spokesperson in the capital city of Tunis told the Telegraph.

"She's claiming to be nine months pregnant with six boys and six girls, but there's absolute nothing about her appearance which indicates this.

"The woman has refused point blank to undergo a medical examination. Now we can't even contact her. She's gone into hiding."

The 34-year-old woman, identified only as A. F., and her husband, Marwan, announced the faux pregnancy earlier this week, calling it an "absolute miracle." The couple said she had conceived through IVF.