29-year-old woman delivers quadruplets

A 29-year-old mother has given birth to quadruplets in what Kiziguro residents called ‘a rare incident’. The four infants are all healthy, medics say. Bonifilda Mukayigira, a resident of Rwimiterere village in Kiziguro Sector, gave birth to two girls and two boys by cesarean section at Kiziguro Hospital on Saturday, bringing the number of her children to five. The newborn girls weighed 1.5 kilogrammes each, while the boys weighed two kilogrammes each. Clementine Uzamukunda, a midwife at the hospital, said the babies stood a strong chance of survival, but possible complications could not yet be ruled out because their mother was not able to breastfeed them all. Their mother was also healthy, Uzamukunda told The New Times yesterday. “Mukayigira basically has no medical risk anymore.... but she is too poor to buy milk for the children. She cannot produce enough to breastfeed them, so she needs help urgently to help the babies grow,” she said. Uzamukunda said quadruplets usually occur when one or more embryos split in the womb, creating sets of twins. New mother still in shock “I thought I had twins. I was surprised to be shown four children after the cesarean operation. I am so worried because I cannot manage to feed these children. I need help,” Mukayigira said. “I did not take it in at first that I had been pregnant with quadruplets. I cried for the first few hours after giving birth; I was in so much shock.” “My belly was absolutely enormous. When I was 20 weeks pregnant I looked like I was ready to give birth. I had to stop working,” she said. Mukayigira gave birth to the first baby at home and was then rushed to hospital for post-natal treatment. Residents have called on the government to come to the parents aid, saying that they are too poor to cater for the babies. ‘This is extremely rare. We have never heard of it before. Unless well wishers and probably the government step in, the babies won’t survive,” said an area resident, John Muhire. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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29-year-old woman delivers quadruplets