Thirty two-year-old Yusuf Ewenje, an Arabic teacher in Apete area of Ibadan, Oyo State, whose wife was delivered of quintuplets (three boys and two girls) on Monday is still in a state of shock.
Ewenje, who was expecting his third and hopefully last child, kept staring at his quintuplets with wonder in his eyes.
When SUNDAY PUNCH asked if the couple underwent In Vitro Fertilisation, he asked in return, ‘what is that?’
The couple said they had never heard of it during an interview with our correspondent on Friday. IVF is a fertlisation process done by merging an egg and sperm in a laboratory bowl and subsequent transferring the embryo to the uterus.
The husband first asked if it was the name of a drug and after explanation, he said that there was no way they would do it since they are both fertile.
“We did not do anything like that. We had two children before. We are both fertile and my wife never had any problem conceiving, ’’ he said.
His wife concurred and also added that neither of them took fertility drugs.
About three months ago, his pregnant wife, Sakira who already has two children for him, was advised to do a scan to determine the condition of the pregnancy. According to the Muslim cleric, the result of the scan caused a scare, one that almost made him to run away.
His fear emanated from the history of his wife’s condition during delivery. Prior to the birth of the quintuplets on Monday, the couple had been blessed with two children, a boy and a girl. Ewenje said his wife spent two days in delivery room each time she was to be delivered of a baby.
He said, “Each time my wife got pregnant, I was always afraid because she experienced difficult delivery with our other two children. She was always in pain and each of the two deliveries took more than one day. But this was a special occasion because despite giving birth to five babies at the same time, she did not spend more than two hours to do so and more so, without pain. It was easier than in the past.”
His wife nodded to confirm her husband’s claim.
Ewenje said when his wife broke the news that she was expecting another baby nine months ago, he thought it would be their third. He registered the expectant mother at a hospital in their neighborhood but little did the couple know that five babies would soon be added to their brood.
“When the pregnancy reached three months, we were advised to have a scan which revealed that my wife was carrying five babies in her womb. After being told the result of the scan, she called me and told me what the scan revealed. I was surprised. I was afraid, I wanted to run away but people came around me and told me to accept the will of Allah in my life.
“Then I took her to the Centre Government Hospital in Apete area of Ibadan where we live. At the hospital, the doctor confirmed the scan result and I asked what to do next since this is strange to me and my wife. We had two children from two deliveries but now, we were expecting five from one delivery. We were confused,” he said.
Because of the exceptional nature of the situation, the doctor referred the couple to Adeoyo State Hospital, where they were told that Sakirat would be in bed until the day of delivery.
“We were told that for my wife to have safe delivery, she needed bed rest from then until she would be delivered of the babies. The doctor at Adeoyo hospital said she must have enough sleep and eat nutritious food. She was admitted in the hospital since then,” Ewenje explained.
But the couple had more challenges to contend with. As an Arabic teacher, Ewenje earned very little and Sakirat is a house wife. For his wife to be in hospital bed for six months, a fortune was needed to take care of the bill. It did come however from unexpected sources.
“While we were in Adeoyo hospital, I was exchanging shifts with my mother to be with my wife every two days. It afforded us the opportunity to take good care of her and provide for her needs. We were not alone in providing care for her however. My wife is pleasant in relating with people so she became friendly with the doctors and nurses who in turn showered her with money, food, fruits and other gifts while she was with them. Each time I visited her in the hospital, she would tell me of their kindness towards her and I would pray for them. I have no other way to appreciate them than to pray for them since I am a Muslim cleric,” said the husband.
On Monday, the couple received what they thought was a disturbing news when the doctors told them that they had to be moved to the University College Hospital which has the right equipment to take delivery of five babies at a time. The news heightened Ewenje’s doubt about the safety of the unborn babies and his wife but within two hours of being admitted at UCH, the first quintuplets were born into the family.
But beyond the joy, the family faces the struggle to feed the babies, pay the hospital bills and cater for the enlarged family.
“We got to UCH at 7.15pm on Monday and my wife was delivered of the last of the five babies at 8.45pm. The children are strong. A boy and a girl are still confined to the incubator. My wife is in good condition too. We were asked to buy pints of blood for her while she was being delivered of the babies, but she never needed them so we returned them. God has been so wonderful to us.
“In my family, the highest number of babies born at the same time is two. We have never had three or more children being given birth to at the same time in my family. The same applies to the family of my wife. So we are the first to be so blessed by Allah. As a cleric, I built my faith around the promise of Allah and the compassion of Nigerians. I know that I need help more than before and I know that God will send his messengers to me and the children,” said the father of seven.
“My wife is strong in her faith. Each time I struggled with my faith, she lifted me up during the period of her pregnancy. As human being, she also showed sign of weakness and I would talk to her and with prayers, strengthened her faith in God. If I have to name the children one name, I will call them Famous or Miracle. Miracle only comes from Allah and I believe in it. God visited my family and without being told I know that Allah has blessed my family permanently,” Ewenje added.
Overnight, the couple’s status has changed to that of celebrity with calls from those who are eager to ascertain the story or offer help to the family.
Ewenje said, “Since I was born, I have never been bombarded with so many calls. People have called me from everywhere in Nigeria, offering to help my family with what they have. We have received donations from people but we need more support from Nigerians.”
Although the mother has begun to breastfeed the babies, she said her breast milk was not enough to feed five babies.
“We feed them mostly with processed milk. This is the first time more than two babies will be delivered at the same time in my family,” she said.
Her husband said apart from feeding the family, he is now faced with the challenge of moving the family to a bigger apartment. He also said that with seven children, he has put a stop to having children.
“Without being told, I know that I have had enough children in life. My target is how to take care of these children. Their education and good health are paramount in my thoughts now, not how to have more children. I don’t have my own personal house. I live in a rented apartment that is not big enough for us. Now, we have to move to a bigger apartment but I don’t know what to do because I have no money to do so,” he said.
credit punchng.org
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