Woman Delivers Conjoined Twins In Enugu (photos)

An Enugu-based couple, Segun and

Mary Ayeni, have shown great hope
despite birthing a set of conjoined
twin girls.

Speaking with SUNDAY PUNCH on
Saturday, the parents of the girls,
Miracle and Testimony, expressed
optimism despite the condition of their
twin daughters born on November 16,
2015, who are joined at the groin.

The father, Segun, 35, explained how,
despite his initial reaction of trauma,
his faith gave him the courage to pull
through.

He said, “Naturally, you would be a
little bit traumatised. That is natural.

But in everything, when you know the
word of God, it will strengthen you
more, because it is part of life. There is
nothing one can do about it. It has
happened.

“When I first heard it was going to be
twins, I was happy. But later they
said they were joined in some way
and I asked, ‘Conjoined how?’

“I thought it was the kind of thing
whereby they would be separated
immediately. But I later discovered
that if they should try to operate
immediately, we would lose the two
(girls).”

Interestingly, the children are very
healthy. According to their father, they
are in perfect condition.

Ayeni said, “It was after the birth that
we knew for certain that the babies
were conjoined. When they (the
doctors) were talking about it, I didn’t
understand, not until the babies came
out.

“They are not connected to anything
(machine). They eat normally; they
poo (defecate) and wee (urinate)
normally because they have separate
genitals and legs.

“They are not sharing any vital
organs, according to the doctors.

That
is why they said their chances of
surviving are very high. They are
okay, except for the occasional fever,
which is normal, and within one or
two days, it is gone.”

Like Segun, his wife, Mary, attributed
the birth to God and expressed an
assurance that the twins were born for
a purpose.

The couple, who celebrated their third
wedding anniversary in December, had
their first daughter, Marvellous, on
November 19, 2013.

According to the mother of three,
Marvellous has had a normal
relationship with her siblings.

The day Mary took her firstborn along
to the hospital; she said Marvellous
played with them like any child would.

The mother said, “After the birth, I was
told that they were conjoined, but it was
two weeks later that I saw the children
face-to-face. I delivered the babies by
caesarean section. While I was in the
hospital recuperating, the babies were
transferred to the University of Nigeria
Teaching Hospital.

“It was a week after that I went there
to see them and I was happy because
they are strong; it was just that they
are conjoined.

Will I question God? What will I do as
their mother? God gave them to me,”
she told our correspondent.

The twins, who are still in the Intensive
Care Unit at UNTH, are visited by their
mother every day.

Segun noted that though they went for
five ultrasounds, they were unprepared
for the peculiar birth. He added that the
true nature of the children’s condition
was kept from him.

He said, “They were just telling us, ‘It
seems they are joined somewhere.’

They would not open up to you because
they don’t know the kind of heart you
have. You know that some people may
not have the heart to withstand such a
thing. It may be a strange thing to the
person.

“Initially, they were even saying (they
shared) one leg. An ultrasound (scan)
can only give you (a view) of the full-
fledged human form between six to
seven months (to the delivery). We
did it again in the sixth month.

Segun said tests were run on the twins
regularly, adding that an average of
N25,000 to N35,000 was spent for his
children’s care weekly, while the fees
could be much more, depending on the
tests.

“The doctors are constantly checking
to see if any of their vital organs are
joined in any way. There’s another
one we are about to do now — MRS
(Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy)
scan. Today, we will still do a series of
it. That one is (a total of) about
N80,000.

“I don’t keep track of all those costs
because they are my children; I don’t
expect anyone to pay me back. I really
cannot recall the test I spent highest
for.

Mary told our correspondent that
though the nurses in the hospital are
kind to her twins, she has been
stigmatised by some hospital staff and
neighbours.

“Because of illiteracy or not being
exposed, some think that whenever
anything (strange) happens, it is
somebody that is behind it.

“Some female workers that clean the
hospital asked, ‘Why are you
disturbing yourself?’ They told me to
leave the kids and run away.

But I can never leave them and run away
because they are my blood.”

“The neighbours living in my
compound are fine; they understand
because they are learned.

But on the streets, some people that heard I had
conjoined twins stopped greeting me.

Some wouldn’t even talk to me; some
that used to come and collect things
from me before now talk about me in
jest.

They laugh. But God will take all
the glory.”

Mary further expressed apprehension
about the urgency of the situation of
the children.

According to her, she has been trying to
reach out to a woman, who had
conjoined twins in 2007.

“I am looking for how to get in touch
with the woman so I can find out a lot
of things.

I don’t understand what the doctors are doing.

I am worried that they may be experimenting with my
kids,” she said.