•How I survived ICU after caesarean to have babies –Mother
From Kemi Yesufu, Abuja
Breaking away from the recent trend of frightened husbands disappearing when their wives have multiple births, father of Abuja’s all-girl quintuplets, Imudia Uduehi, has said he is going nowhere, adding that his daughters were born to be great.
According to a 2005 National Vital Statistics research conducted in the United States of America, the spontaneous conception of quintuplets like that of the Udehis is rare, with the average estimate of one in about 60 million births.
Speaking with Daily Sun a day after the naming ceremony of the five babies, born on April 12, 2017, at the National Hospital, Abuja, Udehi, predicted that his daughters would win laurels for Nigeria, including the coveted Olympic gold.
The first baby was named Anisose Grace, the second Eseose Peace, the third Osejade Blessing, the fourth Obehi Goodness and the fifth girl, Omose Mercy.
The Edo State indigene, who graduated from the University of Ilorin with a Second Class Upper Degree in Computer Science, said he never considered running away from the financial challenge of raising five kids at a time, even in a recession, though he is out of job, because of his faith in God and his love for his wife.
Sounding very much upbeat, Udehi said his quintuplets being all girls makes them more special. When asked if he would have wished his quintuplets were of both sexes, he disclosed that having worked with international and local NGOs on developmental programmes, some targeted at promoting gender equality, it would be hypocritical if he wished for a male child to be among his children.
“I have been involved in programmes that called and advocated for gender parity. I have preached that there is no difference between having a girl or boy, so it would be wrong for me not be happy that I have all girls,” he said.
The young father who spoke with his wife, Oluwakemi Funmilayo Aminu, seated by his side on her hospital bed, said indications that their case was extraordinary came early, with the first set of tests conducted after his wife was confirmed to be carrying her first pregnancy months after they got married, showing that she would have more than one child.
He disclosed that with two tests indicating that his wife would have more than one baby, rather than despair, they chose to have the children in a well-equipped tertiary hospital, which had some of the most experienced medical personnel.
Speaking on her experience, Oluwakemi thanked God that she and her babies were healthy and strong, adding that she survived three days in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), which is dreaded among patients, by God’s grace and the full attention given her by doctors and other workers at the National Hospital.
How we knew we were having quintuplets –Husband
Towards the end of the first trimester, we got to discover that she was pregnant. It the first time we were having children. We thought it was like every other pregnancy, that she would be having a child. But when she had a few complaints, we decided that we would have go for some tests and when I returned from where I travelled, we visited a facility for the test. There, they broke the news that she was pregnant and it was a case of multiple births and when they gave us the number, we were like, “wow”. She went for a second opinion and it was again confirmed that she would have multiple births. We knew we had to brace up for what we was ahead. We knew we were in for a miracle and indeed God was faithful with my wife having a stress-free pregnancy, she was still assisting other patients in the hospital even up to when she was about to go in for her surgery.
Why we need financial assistance –Husband
When the babies were born, I was very happy. You know, quintuplets are a rare occurrence and they came in one gender. In some cases, you may have two boys and three girls or three boys and two girls. But in our case, we have all girls, which makes them very unique. We received them with joy and we are very happy. The response, we’ve had from Nigerians has been quite good. I give God all the glory for how He has been taking care of us. What I am appealing for is that those whom God has laid it in their hearts, that they give to these children. If it is in your heart to bless these children, please, feel free to do so because the door is open and we will appreciate any kind gesture.
‘I’m not a strongman’
Those who say having five children at once makes you a strongman, may not be seeing the real strong being standing by me, which is God. They can look at me in the face and want to call me strong, but it is God that is the actual strong being. I don’t know how the babies were formed, therefore, you won’t be getting it right by calling me a strongman. And I didn’t stay back because I am a strong man. I believe in God and I love my wife so much that I couldn’t have left her alone to go through this period, when I already knew what she was up for. I strongly believe these children were born for a purpose, their being born when Nigeria is in a recession…. I believe God is bringing them to cause a change. In the future they could be winning gold medals for Nigeria. Their coming is a blessing to my family and our country. We had my parents, my in-laws praying and whatever prophecy and instructions were given, we adhered to them, having listened to the advice of doctors that we go to where we can get the best of medical care. At 34 weeks and three days, they all came, bouncing baby girls.
How I survived three days in ICU
Like her husband, the mother of the quintuplets ascribes her successfully pregnancy and birth of five babies to God and the good hands that attended to her in the hospital. According to her, she hardly suffered pregnancy-related illnesses and was strong up until the moment she was rolled in for the caesarean section, riding on commercial motorbikes and assisting other patients. But the major challenge came as she was taken into the ICU, after the babies were delivered. For three days Oluwkemi, a staff of the National Population Commission, could not speak or see the people around her, but she came out without any complications. She said: “The day they were to carry out the surgery, I was still talking freely with the consultants (doctors) and I was eager to see if they would be five babies as indicated.
“During the process (surgery), the devil tried but God intervened. I knew when the doctors, who all did a great job, were taking out the babies, but everything changed suddenly. That’s why a national TV reported that I was admitted in the ICU. When I woke up after three days, I first asked for my husband and I then asked for my babies. He told me they were all well and beautiful. Since then, I have been asking to them. Seriously, I give God all the glory and I thank the doctors.”
Taking over from his wife, Uduehi gave kudos to the medical team that took care of his wife: “Those three days she was in the ICU were tough. She was not speaking or seeing. But I thank God for His protection and the wisdom He gave the doctors who worked on her. We are grateful to God and the medical personnel here.”