Motherhood is a very big task. It comes with lots of challenges, ups and downs, however the grace of God is sufficient for us to scale through.
As a first time mum, I lacked experience about pregnancy and motherhood and I wasn't too exposed then neither do I socialize much with friends to learn more. It's just me and and my busy hubby who has no or little experience too about pregnancy.
I was new in Lagos State Nigeria then during my first pregnancy and so I didn't know any good hospital where I can register for my antenatal clinic and be well taken good care of; my husband however suggested I register in one private hospital he uses which I did. I started the clinic on my 4th week of pregnancy and I was consistent in all my appointments, I already did a scan which showed that I was expecting twin boys🥳💃, hubby was so excited too at the break of that news, he started anticipating how he will be playing football with his boys😊. Infact the joy was extraordinary!I never missed any of my antenatal appointments..***smiles ***
Fast forward to my 28th weeks of the pregnancy, my whole body started swelling 😥 , I was feeling unusual and immediately I told hubby that I needed to do another scan just to make sure that all was well.
Hmmmmmm, we rushed to a hospital around to get the scan done after which, the radiologist said that something was wrong! He refused to disclose the result of the scan to me but only to my husband. I was so inquisitive to know what was wrong which I pressurized hubby to disclose the news to me. He said one of the twin was dead according to the scan. I rejected the news immediately and opted for another scan in another hospital, the result was still the same, infact the radiologist was forced to show me the screen so I can see it to myself that one of the twin in my womb wasn't breathing anymore 😥😥. He suggested we rush to the hospital I was doing my antenatal.
On reaching the hospital, my doctor saw the scan result and screamed! I asked the doctor the way forward, he said that the twins are sharing one placenta and that he can't handle the case. My heart started beating so fast, he immediately wrote a referral letter to Lagos State teaching hospital and said it severally, that we should rush straight to the emergency unit,I become so worried and felt so sad😓. He further butressed that we should not even think of going back home to pick anything rather, we should move straight to the hospital for an urgent attention as the second living twin was already breathing so fast! I died and resurrected. Lol
Finally, we got to the teaching hospital around 9pm with a heavy downpour that day. As instructed to my doctor, we quickly went to the emergency unit and in there, there were many Gynaecologist on duty that night. Lots of diagnosis was carried out on me, infact they repeated the scan several times but the result remained the same; one of the twin was confirmed dead!! at 28th weeks gestation.
The doctors were confused on how to handle the issue at hand. This was because the twins were sharing one planceta though in different sac. Secondly as at 28weeks, the lungs of the foetus has not yet matured and so if they should go for Cs immediately, the chances of the living twin surviving in incubator is 50/50 and if they should allow the baby to keep growing until full gestation period, then my life and the living twin will be at risk due the dead foetus because of infection. At this juncture, the doctors has tabled there reasons and gave me a chance to choose which option I prefer. My heart kept beating and my BP became high!!!
Then I remembered that I have a God in heaven that answerenth prayers, I called on Him with all my strength and He came to my rescue. I choosed to carry the dead baby and the life baby till full term with faith. I was admitted in the hospital. Doctors encouraged me and started managing me conservatively. I was placed on antibiotics, and other health check measures too. I run test and scan weekly inorder to determine when things go wrong. I prayed daily with faith. Everything was moving smoothly from the day one I was admitted at 28weeks of the pregnancy till 35weeks, oops!!! It can only be God.
It was on a Tuesday morning, the consultant gynaecologist assigned to me came for a ward round, he said and I quote "Mrs Mba, what kind of God are you serving? I smiled and he continued, your case is rare since my practice in this hospital, so many cases we have seen where one of the twin died before full term; they are always having different planceta and that makes our treatment easy as emergency CS will be carried out immediately to remove the dead baby while the living baby stays in the womb till full term whereas in your case,the twin boys are sharing one placenta". As if that's not enough, you have been in this hospital with d dead baby inside of you all this long without having any form of complications nor the living twin in your womb. At this juncture,the doctor said we can't continue trying this God, He has helped us so far at least if the baby comes out now, he can survive in the incubator if there is a need for that. He therefore booked me for an elective Cs on thursday morning.
Hmmmm,I became tensed, fear engrossed me, lots of thought was running inside my brain, will I make it, how is the surgery like, will my baby make it? And so many other questions I asked myself. My BP roses to 180/90!
The anaesthesia department visited me to talk to me , nurses encouraged me that I will be fine, but still, I was fidgeting, lol..
The D_day came, my husband signed for the Cs and I was wheeled to the theater 😱. About 6 gynaecologist dressed up in medical attires surrounded me and I started shivering 😀, they prayed for me before they commenced the surgery and assured me that all will be well with me, I became a bit calm and soon they commenced. Within 7minutes, I heard the cry of my baby, tears of joy flowed within as I carried him, I smiled and praised God, it's a cute baby boy weighing 2.1kg, the doctor said! On the other hand, they brought out the shrinked dead baby 😭 weighing 1kg too but they refused to show me the baby due to psychological issues, Doctor requested for an autopsy but my husband declined due to his personal reasons.
In the next 45mins, I was out from the theater to the recovery room, I saw the excitement on my husband face and he named my son Chisom (God is with me)Favour. The doctors carried my son to the neonatal unit for a proper checks , series of test and scan, x ray, were carried out on him but all came out well, there was no need for the incubator, the baby was okay, no infection was detected, they still monitored him for more 5days after which he was discharged from the neonatal unit.
This is Chisom Favour, my womb opener, the boy that gave me lots of experience via Cesarean section delivery 6years back.
As the day go by, I kept recovery gradually from learning to walk again to taking only liquids for some days and later solid food.
I became so happy when doctor announced my discharge because I have stayed over two months in the hospital, no place like home you know 😊😊. My experience in that hospital can never be forgotten in a hurry, I looked so down, pains all over my body due to series of needles/injections..but at the end, it worth it!
To every mother reading this post, may you live long to eat the fruit of your labour, and may God give us more grace and strength in our motherhood journey, Amen!
Thanks for reading!!
Remember to stay safe and be happy 😊😏.