By Ayobami Ife, Abeokuta
What began as a moment of joy for a family in Ogun State has quickly turned into a daunting challenge, as a 40-year-old woman, Mutiat Olateju, delivered a set of quadruplets at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Abeokuta..
The unexpected delivery came as a shock to the family, as earlier medical scans reportedly did not indicate that the expectant mother was carrying four babies.
Olateju, who already has five children, said that the family had initially believed she was expecting just one baby and didn’t consider that as posing any challenge.
“I have given birth to five children before. When we did the first scan, it showed just one baby, and later another scan indicated two. We never knew there were four babies,” she said.
Palpably concerned about the development that is threatening to momentarily drown out her feeling of joy welcoming the beautiful babies, she appealed for assistance to help the family cope with the responsibility of adequately caring for the newborns.
Olateju made the appeal on Thursday to the Ogun State Government and well-meaning Nigerians for support to care for the newborns after she delivered them through a Caesarian session at the Federal Government – owned specialist health facility.
“Please, I need help from the government and good people because I do not know where to start from. I am already 40 years old, and I want the government to help us take care of these four children,” she pleaded.
Similarly, her husband, Oluwaseun Olateju, an indigene of Atan in Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State, also appealed for support, saying the challenges of raising the quadruplets alongside their other children would be overwhelming.
According to him, the family already had five children before the latest delivery, noting that caring for nine children would stretch their financial capacity thin.
“I am the husband of the woman who delivered the quadruplets at FMC. Before now, we already had five children. I want the government to please come to my aid because I cannot do it alone. It is beyond my power,” he said.
He added, “At one point, I even thought of running away, but I later changed my mind because I believe everything will eventually be fine.”
The couple, therefore, appealed to the Ogun State Government, corporate organisations and philanthropic individuals to support them in caring for the babies.
Meanwhile, a Consultant Gynaecologist at the hospital, Dr Taofeek Ogunfunmilayo, who supervised the delivery, disclosed that the babies were delivered at 32 weeks and are currently receiving specialised care.
According to him, the mother was not registered for antenatal care at the hospital and was referred to the facility while already in labour.
“The patient is what we call an unbooked patient. She did not register with us for antenatal care and was referred here when she was already in labour,” he said.
“Initially, we thought she was carrying triplets, but during surgery we discovered there were four babies and they were successfully delivered.”
Ogunfunmilayo noted that the mother is stable and responding well to treatment.
However, he explained that the quadruplets were born prematurely and have been admitted to the hospital’s Special Care Baby Unit for close monitoring.
According to him, while two of the babies are relatively stable, the remaining two require intensive medical attention due to their fragile condition.
He added that the medical team is making efforts to stabilise the babies, noting that premature births often require specialised neonatal care.
