Get Guardian on GoogleA Lagos-based neonatal care facility, Babies Matter Medical Centre, has discharged twin babies born at 24 weeks of gestation, weighing 550 grammes and 740 grammes, respectively, after providing them with specialised medical care for nearly three months.
The babies, who were considered extremely premature, spent 87 and 85 days in the hospital’s neonatal unit before they were discharged.
The Co-founder and Clinical Lead of BMMC, Zainab Mudasiru, described their survival as a significant achievement, noting that babies born at 24 weeks were at the threshold of viability and required intensive medical intervention to survive.
Mudasiru, in a statement made available to Punch, said the survival of such babies depended largely on the capacity of the hospital and the availability of specialised neonatal care.
“Being born at 24 weeks of gestation, even in developed Western countries, is considered to be at the threshold of viability and survival,” she said.
She added, “This means these babies can potentially survive outside the womb only with intensive medical intervention and depending on the hospital’s capabilities. Even in the UK, for instance, the maximum survival rate is 70 per cent for babies born at 24 weeks.”
The BMMC clinical lead explained that extremely premature babies were vulnerable to several complications, including underdeveloped lungs, fragile brains susceptible to bleeding, immature gastrointestinal systems and infections.
According to her, managing such babies in Nigeria presents additional challenges because of limitations in the country’s healthcare environment.
“We are not in the UK; we are in Lagos, Nigeria. This is a limited-resource environment where there are still many challenges in trying to deliver expert neonatal care,” she said.
Mudasiru commended the hospital’s medical personnel for working together to ensure the twins survived, adding that another set of 24-week twins was currently receiving care at the facility.
She said the centre remained committed to providing specialised care for premature babies and urged pregnant women and hospitals anticipating premature deliveries to contact its neonatal team early to enable preparations for the babies’ arrival.
While expressing gratitude to the hospital, the mother of the twins, Temitayo Fagbemi, said she initially lost hope when she saw the babies’ low birth weights.
She said the experience of having twins born at 24 weeks was frightening, particularly because of their chances of survival.
“In fact, I lost all hope when my babies were born at 24 weeks. I was devastated and thought it was all over, but I just want to thank God for using Babies Matter Medical Centre to give them a chance of survival,” she said.
Fagbemi said she broke down in tears when she saw that one of the babies weighed 550 grammes while the other weighed 740 grammes.
“It was not easy at all. The fear of losing your twin babies and seeing them so tiny was overwhelming. When I saw them, I was in tears because I had lost all hope that they were going to survive at that weight,” she said.
She, however, said her confidence gradually improved as she witnessed the attention and treatment provided by the doctors and nurses.
According to her, the medical personnel consistently monitored the babies and provided the necessary treatments throughout their stay at the hospital.
“As days and months went by, I began to have hope when I saw the attention the doctors were giving them, the medical treatments and the care from the nurses. I was so happy. I had hope, and today, my twin babies are healthy and alive,” she said.
Fagbemi also praised the hospital for preparing her to care for the babies after discharge, saying the nurses trained her on how to prepare their feeds, bathe them, and handle their daily needs.
She said the training involved practical demonstrations and supervision until she became confident enough to care for the twins independently.
The mother urged other parents with premature babies receiving intensive care to remain hopeful and maintain open communication with their doctors and nurses.
She also encouraged parents whose babies were born prematurely to seek specialised medical attention rather than lose hope because of the babies’ birth weights.
