Tragedy as Kiambu mother who gave birth to quintuplets loses four
A screengrab picture of Mercy Kanini from a video in which she sought support from well-wishers.
The joy that swept through a maternity ward in Thika on Sunday when a 28-year-old mother from Juja delivered five babies through natural birth, has turned into grief.
Four of the newborns died on Tuesday morning according to medical sources at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH), where the infants had been transferred for specialised care.
Mercy Kanini went into labour at 1am on September 13 and was admitted to the labour ward at Thika Level Five Hospital at 7am, according to Kiambu Health Executive Dr Elias Maina.
By 10.56am, she had delivered quintuplets; one boy and four girls, in what doctors described as one of only five recorded quintuplet natural deliveries in Kenya's history.
“Based on her dates and ultrasound scan, the gestation was 25 weeks and six days. Upon examination, she was found to be in established labour. Three obstetric scans showed a multiple pregnancy involving quintuplets,” Dr Maina said.
When labour began, Kanini was first taken to Mary Help of the Sick Mission Hospital in Thika, where she was examined before being referred to Thika Level Five Hospital because she needed specialised care and access to a larger newborn unit.
Doctors at Thika Level Five had prepared to deliver her by Caesarean section. By the time she arrived at the hospital, however, labour was already advanced.
The medical team began preparing her for surgery but before they could proceed, the first baby was delivered naturally.
The labour then progressed rapidly, with all five babies delivered in quick succession between 10.45am and 10.56am.
“We had prepared ourselves for four babies because that is what the scans had shown us. Getting five was a big surprise, but we are very happy and grateful,” Kanini told reporters the day after the birth.
The babies, a boy followed by his four sisters, were extremely premature and critically underweight with the their birth weights ranging from 600 to 800 grams.
“Due to their extreme prematurity and very low birth weights 600 grams, 630 grams, 715 grams, 720 grams and 800 grams, respectively the newborns required more specialised neonatal care and continuous resuscitation. The Thika Level Five Hospital neonatal team stabilised the babies and prepared them for transfer,” Dr Maina said.
The five infants accompanied by their mother and father were transferred by ambulance from Thika Level Five Hospital at about 10.30pm on September 13 and received at KNH for specialised newborn care.
From joy to grief
Even before the transfer, Kanini, who already has two older children, had begun appealing publicly for support, aware of the challenge that lay ahead.
“Having five babies at once is not easy. We have two other children so we are now thinking about how we will provide for all of them. But our happiness is greater than the shock,” the family said in comments to reporters on the eve of the transfer.
But that happiness was short-lived as the four girls died.
KNH Director of Clinical Services Joel Lessan said the five babies arrived as referrals.
“Two females died within two hours of arrival . The other two females died after two days due to premature lungs. The male survived. The patient (kanini) had premature delivery at 25 weeks and delivered five preterm babies alive,” Dr Lessan said.
The deaths have transformed what began as a rare and joyous delivery into a devastating loss for the family, which had only days earlier been celebrating the arrival of five new members.
A doctor familiar with the case urged women carrying multiple pregnancies to attend antenatal clinics regularly, saying early and consistent monitoring gives doctors the best chance of managing high-risk pregnancies and improving the survival chances of premature babies.
Kanini remains in a stable condition, hospital sources said.
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