Babies Matter Medical Centre (BMMC) has successfully discharged twin babies born at 24 weeks’ gestation, weighing 550 grams and 740 grams, respectively.
The Co-founder and Clinical Lead of the hospital, Dr Zainab Mudasiru, described the babies’ survival as a significant achievement, considering the challenges associated with caring for extremely premature infants.
Mudasiru said babies born at 24 weeks were considered to be at the threshold of viability and survival, even in developed countries.
Being born at 24 weeks gestation, even in developed Western countries, is considered to be at the threshold of viability and survival. “Meaning these babies can potentially survive outside the womb only with intensive medical intervention and depending on hospital capabilities.
Even in the UK for instance, maximum survival rate is 70 per cent of all babies born at 24 weeks gestation,” she said.
She explained that babies born at this stage faced several medical complications, including severely underdeveloped lungs, fragile brains vulnerable to bleeding, immature gastrointestinal systems and high susceptibility to infections.
“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 said the hospital successfully managed the twins until they were ready to go home, with the babies spending 87 and 85 days respectively at the facility, just under three months.
We took delivery of these 24 week twins and have successfully managed them to the point of going home. I am so proud of our facility and our staff who together worked so hard as a team, and have given their parents such joy.
“We thank God for this success and as I speak, we actually have another set of 24 weeks twins currently in our unit, both doing well,” she said.
She urged pregnant women and hospitals whose babies arrived early or those concerned about delivering prematurely to contact the hospital so the neonatal team can be on standby as soon as the baby arrives.
Mother of Twins Commends Babies Matter Medical Centre for Life-Saving Neonatal Care
The mother of the twins, Mrs Temitayo Fagbemi, expressed gratitude to the hospital for giving her babies a chance to survive, saying she had lost hope when they were born.
“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 for giving them a chance of survival,” she said.
Fagbemi said seeing the babies’ extremely low birth weights had left her in tears, as she feared they would not survive. “It was not easy at all. The fear of losing your twin babies, the fear of seeing them so tiny, one was weighing 550 grams while the other was weighing 740 grams.
“In fact, when I saw them, I was in tears because I lost all hope that they were going to survive at that weight,” She, however, said her confidence gradually improved as she witnessed the attention and medical care provided by the doctors and nurses.
As days and months went by, I was having hope when I saw the way the doctors were giving all the attention to them, the medical treatments, even the nurses. In fact, I was so happy.
“I had hope. And today, here we are today, my twin babies are healthy, alive, thanks to Babies Matter Medical Centre,” she said.
Fagbemi also commended the hospital for preparing her to care for the babies after discharge, saying nurses taught her how to prepare their feeds, bathe them and handle their daily care.
She said the hospital conducted practical training and supervised her until she was confident enough to care for the babies independently.
The mother encouraged other parents of premature babies receiving neonatal intensive care to remain hopeful and communicate openly with their doctors and nurses.
Fagbemi urged Nigerians with extremely premature babies to seek appropriate specialist care, expressing gratitude to Babies Matter Medical Centre for helping her family through the difficult experience.
For Enquiries
For Enquiries or Referrals: Kindly email: hi@babiesmatterng.org or Phone: 070 3558 1073, 091 6000 4246.
You can also visit their office at: 5A, Remi Olowude Street, Off Marwa Bus Stop, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos.
Visit Babies Matter Medical Centre website or follow them on Instagram and Facebook for more information.
