adminTawanda Mangoma in Chiredzi
A-24-YEAR-OLD woman gave birth to a baby girl in a rural clinic — and then received shock news from nurses that there were MORE babies. The clinic — which had no facilities to handle the complicated delivery — referred Lizzy Moyana, of Checheche near Chisumbanje, to another bigger clinic but nurses there put her on an ambulance to Chiredzi General Hospital some 150km away. There, exhausted Lizzy delivered a second, then a third and finally a FOURTH baby.
Unemployed Lizzy, who already had two other children — a six-year-old girl and boy, 3 — told Chronicle from the hospital yesterday: “I wasn’t expecting quadruplets. I only had one child for each of my previous two pregnancies and I used that experience to prepare for this pregnancy.”
Lizzy’s husband, who works in South Africa, was not there to support her through the eight-hour labour, but her aunt was with her all the way.
Her husband is said to be travelling to Zimbabwe to be with her.
Lizzy, who delivered last Friday, remains at Chiredzi Hospital because one of her babies, the only boy, is still to reach 1,8kg — the minimum weight doctors say is safe discharge new born babies.
She delivered three girls each weighing 1,8kg, while the boy weighed in at 1,6kg.
Lizzy is appealing for the public’s help to take care of the unexpected arrivals. Her aunt, who visits her daily at hospital to help with child care, has been squatting at the local bus rank in freezing temperatures. She is too skint to pay for a lodge.
She said: “The babies are always crying. I think they’re not getting enough milk from the breast feeding.
“I’m just appealing to anyone who can help provide clothes and supplementary milk. I’m a subsistent farmer and my husband works in South Africa, only visiting for brief periods on holidays. It’s going to be a tough task looking after these babies alone.”
Last Thursday, Moyana went to Mabeye Clinic in Checheche, near the Midlands District of Chisumbanje, hoping for a quick, incident-free delivery. She delivered one child and was referred to St Peters Clinic at Checheche Growth Point after nurses recognised that she had a “Retain Second Twin” — medical parlance for a situation where nurses anticipate the delivery of twins. St Peters Clinic sent her to Chiredzi General Hospital which has better facilities — setting her on a 150km ambulance journey filled with apprehension.
Langelihle Zamisa, Chiredzi General Hospital’s Sister in Charge for the Maternity Ward, said despite the anxiety, brave Lizzy delivered all the babies normally.
Lizzy is the second woman to deliver quadruplets in Zimbabwe this month. A fortnight ago, Alice Mutasa, 20, of Mbare in Harare, delivered four girls naturally at Harare Central Hospital.
derick.khumalo