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‘I‘ve not only hung my boots, I have thrown them out’
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15/01/2012 00:00:00
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The
neo-natal ward of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi
Araba, Lagos, is not used to conducting send off ceremonies for
discharged infants born in the hospital.
However,
last Thursday that tradition was broken. The reason? This is no
ordinary time and such a time deserves special treat. The Shofunlayo
quintuplet delivered in the hospital on December 16 last year are ready
to go home hale and hearty.
As
a prelude, five baby cots lined side by side, and the quintuplet were
brought one after the other and placed inside the cots. They were cute
in the cloth and caps on their heads.
Bundles of joy
All
around, doctors, nurses and every one in LUTH engaged in one way or the
other in nurturing the Shofunlayo quintuplet since they were born were
beaming with smiles. One could understand. It was the first time that
such high number of multiple births would be delivered in the hospital
and all would survive. That was the reason the management board of the
hospital gathered, not only to bid the children goodbye as they returned
to their parents’ home, but also came with gifts for the children.
LUTH’s
message for the proud parents Mr. Wale and Olayemi Shofunlayo was that
the doors of the hospital was opened to the family whenever there was
need for any check up without any protocol.
Although
one could see in his disposition the façade of an expert who has seen
it all, the eyes of Professor Godwin Olu Ajayi, a professor of
Obstetrics and Gynaecology still betrayed excitement and happiness.
Ajayi and his assistants monitored and saw to the nurturing of the
babies right from the womb and delivered them safely.
Ajayi,
who is also President of Society of Perinatal Medicine of Nigeria
(SOPMON), speaking about the quintuplet and their welfare said: “It is
actually for me a very joyful moment that we have this type of delivery
here. We, right from the beginning thought that it was four, but on the
day of delivery, the Almighty God told us that he was wiser and better
than all. The parents must have been budgeting for four but now they are
five. I immediately I left the operation theatre, I had to call the
husband and told him the number of children. And what was going on in my
mind was that this is a blessed country yet, the government does
nothing for us.”
According
to him, in 2002 a similar case had to be referred abroad when around
20th week it was discovered the pregnant mother and father were AS
(sickle cell carriers). Further tests showed that the expectant mother
was also carrying a virus. The medical team was unsure whether the
pathogens have the touched the placenta and done any harm. After several
considerations the mother had to be sent to the United States of
America where she eventually delivered in New York. After the delivery
the Mayor of gave the children citizenship of the US and provided the
parents with a house and nanny.
However,
for the Shofunlayos, parents of the quintuplet, it has been a long
journey that the hospital chapter has closed on a positive note. Last
Tuesday was exactly six months, 184 days since the mother left her home
and the hospital became her temporary abode. The couple is now looking
forward to taking care of their children in the comfort of their home.
Before the birth of the quintuplet, they had only a male child.
Looking to a bright future
While
the husband is a little reticent on having another child, Mrs.
Shofunlayo was categorical: “I have not only hung my boots, I have
thrown them out of the window.”
To
Mr. Shofunlayo the prospect of catering for these children does weigh
him down: “I am really very happy for what God has done for me. I ought
to have had more than one child before now, but it was not possible so
God decided to compensate me for the delay by giving me a quintuplet. I
am very sure he will give me the wherewithal to take of them. I am just
so happy.”
He
added: “I have taken it as a responsibility. Even before now if I had
been spending too much in other areas, I have put a break so that I
would be able to meet up with my responsibility and also put more
efforts in my job.” He does not however rule out receiving any
assistance if offered especially from the state or federal government.
Talking
about his experience, he said: “We always go together, even coming to
LUTH I brought her. I was happy. The issue of children for us had been
delayed. So, if God wants to compensate me for that, why not. At a point
to ease herself was a Herculean task, I had to assist. It was not easy
at all. At a time she had bed sore because of lying for a long time in
one place. I felt so much pity for her. Most of the times, I had to help
her by massaging her stomach.”
Shofunlayo
is disappointed that all the tiers of government had not deemed it fit
to identify with his family and LUTH on the medical success recorded. He
said: “I expected to see representatives of both the federal and state
governments come to identify with us. We all know that this thing that
happened is not a thing that happens every day and it certainly will go
down in the records. This is a federal hospital and I am sure the
Minister of Health is aware of this breakthrough. We are not asking him
to give us anything, but he could through the Medical Director of the
hospital communicate with us. There is no acknowledgement that such a
thing happened.“
Professor
Edna Iroha, a professor of Paediatrics, who spoke on the success the
hospital has recorded with the quintuplet said: “The birth of the
children is special. The normal thing is usually one two, three, but
when it goes beyond that, I mean it is something big and special in a
way. I tell you what you haven’t asked. There is a certain amount of
weight that the uterus can’t carry beyond that, the baby must come out;
about three kilogram, a little over four. But in this case, five of them
and none weighed less than one kg.
“We
are talking about six kg or more. How she managed for that length of
time, it is a miracle. You would have thought that that the five of
them by the time the total weight is approaching four kg, she would pour
them but surprisingly they stayed on and you can relate survival to
weight. The bigger you are in terms of weight, the more likely their
survival and in terms of gestational age, the longer they stayed there,
the higher their weight all things being equal, the mother is feeding
well, the placenta is able to deliver that nutrient from the mother to
the womb.”
On
whether the mother being at her prime, contributed to the success of
the birth Iroha said: “It has some contributions. The earlier in life
you have your babies, the better the chances of those babies surviving
both in terms of gestation, the size and then the absence of
abnormality. So, the age of the mother contributes a lot.”
The
babies have been in incubators since they were born. However, two of
them are now big enough to be weaned off the incubator and their
temperature outside it is stable.
Iroha
has advice for potential mothers faced with such multiple conception.
According to her “ One thing that I will say, looking at this mother, is
that she got to the hospital, she had bed rest and she delivered in the
hospital unlike the ones they have transferred to us in the past,
babies born in another hospital and then transferring that to the
specialist institutions and by that time they would have lost some time.
These babies would have gone very cold, their respiratory problems
would have worsened but these ones came out and they were handed over to
us, next to the incubators. It was just a matter of seconds and
minutes. So, I think that contributed. So, if anybody is going to have a
premature delivery, whether one or five, it is better done in a
facility or in an institution where the facilities and experts are
available”
For LUTH and the Shofunlayo family, it is an idyllic story that ends well.
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from punch newspaper
We spend N.4m monthly to feed our quintuplets – Mother
January 25, 2012 by Motunrayo Aboderin
MOTUNRAYO
ABODERIN spent a day at the Ijede home of Mrs. Olayemi Shofunlayo, the
30-year-old woman who gave birth to quintuplets last month and in this
report she highlights the challenges the family has been facing nursing
the five children.
The journey to the Number 35, Peace
Avenue, Unity Estate, Ijede, Ikorodu home of Mr. and Mrs. Olayemi
Shofunlayo last week Tuesday was eventful. Though the road was dusty and
bumpy, the serenity of the area bears testimony to the peace that
reigns in the estate. Residents were hospitable as most of them gladly
directed our correspondent who was visiting the area for the first time
to the house. The house itself bears testimony to the fact that the
family is just like an average Nigerian family hustling to survive.
Sparsely furnished, the three-bedroom house located on a plot of land is
devoid of the conveniences that one would see in opulent environment
such as Lekki and Victoria Island. But the occupiers are living in
peace.
The mother of five warmly welcomed our
correspondent to the house. Mrs. Shofunlayo, who appeared weak and
sleepy, introduced our correspondent to some of her relations who had
come to help her nurse her five children. After the introduction, the
woman narrated the challenges she and her husband, Wale, a self-employed
lawyer had been going through nursing their five new born babies.
Though the interview was intermittently disrupted by the babies’ cry for
attention, Shofunlayo revealed a story that was woven in pains and
pleasure.
“Nursing a baby is challenging how much
more nurturing five children at the same time, my sister it is not easy
but I’m not complaining because it is a good stress,” the woman, who was
delivered of the quintuplets on December 16 last year, opened up
THE PUNCH had reported the
delivery of the five babies, which occurred on Friday, December 16,
2010. It was Mrs. Shofunlayo’s second delivery and also the first
quintuplets recorded at LUTH.
The quintuplets were successfully
delivered through caesarian operations. They are now at the family home
located at Ijede, Ikorodu.
However the shock of starting with a set
of quintuplets and the demands of nurturing them has yet to strain the
joy of the new mother.
Asked how much she spent in a month on
her babies, Shofunlayo said her family spent nothing less than N.4m. She
added that this could increase as the fuel price hike had affected the
prices of all consumables and baby products.
She said, “While I was on bed rest, I
bought some baby things which cost about N380,000. That was in December
before the Federal Government increased the price of petrol. Most of
those things will finish at the end of this month. That means I have to
go to the market again and with more money. It’s costing my husband so
much, but it is worth the investment. These are my babies and they
deserve the best.”
Breastfeeding the babies is another
challenge for the new mother of five. However, in spite of the strain
that this would impact on her, Shofunlayo maintained that she would
endure the hardship for the sake of her children.
She said, “I have to struggle to feed
the five babies one after the other until they fall asleep. I spend all
the day breastfeeding them. When I’m feeding one, that’s when another
wakes, and another. The first day after I was discharged was very
challenging; I could not sleep throughout the day till the next morning.
My eyes were so heavy. I was tired.
“I later devised a means to make life
easy for myself. While the babies are asleep, fill their bottles with
breast milk, and then mix it with baby formula. So far, things have
been going well. But breastfeeding is just a fraction of what a baby
needs. At that tender age, they cry for attention.”
But Shofunlayo said that her mother,
mother-in-law and sister had been providing the needed assistance. “I
thank God for my family. They have been by my side. I can’t imagine
going through this journey alone. But I still hope to hire house helps
later,” she said.
However, if breastfeeding the babies is
difficult, raising money for their daily upkeep is tasking. The mother
is presently jobless while the husband, Wale, is a self-employed lawyer.
But according to the woman, the family is coping by the grace of God
Recalling the years she was still
trusting God for a child, Shofunlayo said that they were years of pain.
“Yes, they were years of pain but I thank God for He has wiped off her
tears and that is why I described the present stress I’m passing through
as a good stress,” she said.
However, Shofunlayo said that she was
not pleased with the response of the Lagos and Federal Government,
noting that nobody had visited the babies from the two sides.
She added, “No representative from the
Lagos State Government visited me at the hospital. It is not right. I’m
sure they heard but chose to ignore us. I’m not asking them for money,
they would have at least paid a courtesy visit. If this had happened in
some other states, I’m sure government officials would have come to
check on the welfare of the babies.”
But in spite of the state government’s
silence, Shofunlayo said that so many well wishers including
non-governmental organisations, private companies had been strong
pillars of support for the babies.
She said, “I have also been getting
calls from people asking me to send the account numbers of my babies.
People have been of great support. I thank God. He has not left me
stranded.”
Speaking on the welfare of her babies, Shofunlayo said that they were all in a stable condition.
“The last boy is so fair like me, and the other girls look like their dad. They took the shape of his face,” she added.
She said that the birth of her
quintuplets had brought an unexpected publicity to her family, one she
would never have envisioned. “When the first media house visited me at
the hospital, I thought that was going to be the end, but it did not
stop. Even Cable News Network and CNTV, a Chinese Television station
paid me a visit. I was baffled.”
On the popular Ogunsanya quadruplets,
who just bagged Master’s degree from the same university in the United
Kingdom, Shofunlayo congratulated them and their parents. She said they
must have spent fortunes before the quadruplets could attain that
academic heights
“I just had my babies for less than two
months, and I know that we have spent lots of money. So now, hearing
about the story of the parents who trained four children up to Master’s
level is mind-blowing. You can’t begin to imagine the amount of money
those parents would have spent on those children. I salute the parents.
Train a child up to secondary school level is no joke; talk less of
Master’s level.
