Abuja sextuplets discharged, hospital seeks support for them
By Folasade Akpan
The National Hospital, Abuja has discharged the sextuplets delivered on Jan. 30.
The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) reports that Mrs Precious Nwachukwu had the children after 13 years of marriage.
The Chief Medical Director, Prof. Muhammad Mahmud, while handing the babies over to the parents and other helpers on Thursday, said that the successful delivery of the babies and their care was a good feat recorded by the hospital.
He also said that the babies, who had gone through certain stages of care to ensure that they were healthy, were given the best chances of survival by the neonatal unit of the hospital.
“It really says a lot about their commitment and dedication to practice and that has shown us that in Nigeria, we have people, the knowledge and skill to really do something like this.
“The doctors and nurses stood by these children and one amazing thing was the fact that they had to increase the staffing of this facility to ensure that these children really have the best chances to survive.
“The least weight of these children was at 850 grams and, within this one month, the one with the lowest weight had gotten to 1,300 grams, that’s 1.3 kgs. One of them got up to two kgs.
“We want to assure Nigerians of the resoluteness of the staff of this hospital to do whatever it is they can, to push the frontiers of healthcare forward to greater heights.”
Mahmud also commended the family for keeping hope alive all these years and pushing themselves in spite of all the challenges they encountered.
“We congratulate the family now that we are releasing these blessings to you.
“We pray that God sees you through their upbringing, from their feeding to their housing, clothing, to education and to the best of the characters that will actually be able to make impact.”
He commended the philanthropists who had come to assist the family, adding that the family still needed more support from all Nigerians to be able to properly take care of the children the way they should be cared for.
The Chief Consultant Neonatologist, Dr Mariya-Mukhtar Yola, said that birthing and caring for the sextuplets was indeed one of the rarest occasions the unit had had.
She said that at birth, all the babies had special health challenges thereby needing respiratory support, and support with sugar levels, temperature, feeding, blood and even infection prevention.
She said that to the glory of God, they had all grown way beyond their birth weight, adding that the hospital had a strict follow up plan for them to support them.
“Ideally, they could have waited longer to gain weight, but because of the exigencies of society and the cost constraints, they were discharged early. But, again, they are fit to go home.
“So, we’ll be following them up initially twice in a week, and then eventually weekly and even longer times as they mature.
“There are still a lot of challenges ahead, because they are going to be needing more medication, some blood transfusions along the way. So, they still need a lot of support from people and well-wishers.”
The father of the babies, Mr Ifeanyi Nwachukwu, appreciated the hospital for caring for the wife from four months into the pregnancy up till delivery.
He also thanked them for taking care of the babies who were pre-term, till they were fit to be discharged.
He further appreciated well-meaning Nigerians who have come to support them, adding that more was still needed to bring the children up.
“We really give glory and praise to God for a time like this and we appreciate all the amazing staff that had been there for us and all who have come to support us.
“We need the help of the teeming Nigerians and the amazing mother we have up there in the person of the First Lady, Mrs Oluremi Tinubu. We have named the last daughter after her.
“We really desire that you come to our aid, the home that we are taking these children to now is a concern, how to sustain them to be good citizens of Nigeria is a concern, but I know that you all can help us.
“I know that we are not alone in this journey, the entire Nigerians, the government of the day which renew hope at all time, this is the time to renew hope for this family,” he added.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the babies – four girls and two boys – were conceived through In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) and were delivered at 30 weeks through Caesarean Section. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
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Edited by Abiemwense Moru/Ephraims Sheyin
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