A 40-year-old woman, Mutiat Olateju, has given birth to a set of quadruplets at the Federal Medical Centre Abeokuta in Ogun State, a development that came as a surprise to her family.
The mother, who already has five children, said earlier medical scans did not reveal that she was carrying four babies. According to her, the initial scan showed only one baby, while a later examination suggested two.
Speaking after the delivery, Olateju expressed shock at the outcome and appealed to the government and kind-hearted individuals for support to care for the newborns.
“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. 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 want support to take care of these children,” she said.
The father of the babies, Oluwaseun Olateju, who hails from Atan in the Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State, also appealed for assistance, saying the responsibility of caring for the quadruplets in addition to their other children would be overwhelming.
He explained that the family already had five children before the latest delivery, bringing the total number of their children to nine.
“I am the husband of the woman who delivered the quadruplets. Before now, we already had five children. I want the government to come to my aid because I cannot do it alone. It is beyond my power. At one point, I even thought of running away, but I later changed my mind because I believe everything will eventually be fine,” he said.
A consultant gynaecologist at the hospital, Taofeek Ogunfunmilayo, who supervised the caesarean section, 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. Initially, we thought she was carrying triplets, but during surgery we discovered there were four babies and they were successfully delivered,” he said.
Ogunfunmilayo added that the mother is stable and responding well to treatment. However, the quadruplets, who were born prematurely, have been admitted to the hospital’s Special Care Baby Unit for close monitoring.
He explained that while two of the babies are relatively stable, the remaining two require intensive medical attention due to their fragile condition, noting that premature births often require specialised neonatal care.
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