A double tragedy has rocked Ikyor Community in Ushongo Local Government Area of Benue State shortly after a woman died along with her quadruplets hours after delivery.
Mr. Isaac Gbilin, the Officer in Charge of St. Francis Primary Healthcare Centre, where the delivery took place, disclosed that the deceased had gone into labor at about 4 a.m. and was rushed to the facility in a wheelbarrow, where she delivered two of the babies en route and the last two at the facility.
The woman’s delivery of quadruplets at St. Francis Healthcare threw the community into a frenzy, but their celebration was short-lived when the mother died after complaining of body weakness and restlessness, a situation that the health center could not contain due to a lack of required medical facilities.
The second tragedy unveiled itself when the quadruplets started dying one after the other. To salvage the situation, messages were forwarded to the state’s governor, who intervened by demanding a transfer of the last baby who was still breathing to a much better hospital with sophisticated medical facilities.
Sir James Lorpu, the rescue team agent sent by the Secretary of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management and SEMA, arrived to rush the last baby to the General Hospital, Katsina Ala, to stabilize her before moving her to the Benue State University Teaching Hospital (BSUTH), Makurdi. Unfortunately, the baby died in the process.
Mr. Isaac Gbilin’s explanation provided insight into the fact that the deceased had never attended an antenatal programme since she became pregnant and was also reported to have had hemorrhage.
His words:
โShe said she did not attend antenatal care because there was nobody to help her, and when I tested her, I discovered she had a hemorrhage. We had already prepared to take care of that when she died.”
The father of the deceased, Mr. Stephen Shaagee, said his daughter had been solely responsible for catering to herself and her three children after her husband died. Mr. Stephen stated that he accommodated them following disagreements with her in-laws, who could not take care of them even during her pregnancy.
Speaking through the community’s tax collector, Ephraim Ayua, the kindred head of Ikyor, Chief Samuel Iyohule, expressed gratitude to the state government for their timely intervention despite the eventual outcome of the situation. He also appealed to the government for the provision of basic infrastructural facilities needed.
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