Mrs. Precious Ifeanyi, who gave birth to sextuplets at the National Hospital, Abuja after 13 years of marriage, has appealed to the government and well-meaning Nigerians to come to the babies’ aid.
She made the appeal, on Monday, in Abuja, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Ifeanyi, a native of Ebonyi in Ohaozara Local Government Area told NAN that the family was in a dire need of accommodation to take the children to after being discharged from the hospital.
“We presently live in a one-bedroom apartment which is not appropriate for the children. We need a well-ventilated apartment.
“The greatest challenge we have now is that we don’t have enough to take care of them.
“The doctors also asked me this morning if we have started getting ready and prepared to receive them because very soon they will hand them over to us.
“As it stands now we’ve not gotten all we need to take care of them. We look forward to God’s provision through people.
“We just believe that God will touch men and women to come around to help.
“Our desire towards these children is that like the doctors told us, we should not just take them into any house.
“It should be a well-ventilated place. So, I would like the government to help us to get good accommodation, where they will stay,’’ she pleaded.
She also appealed for a car to be used in conveying the children around, when they needed to go out, especially to the hospital for injection required of them to take monthly up till a certain age.
“We don’t want to be carrying them about on a motorcycle, and even the beds the six of them will use we don’t have yet.
“The children are supposed to stay separately just as they are here because they are active. So, we still need beds for them,” she added.
Ifeanyi, who holds HND in Mass Communication and a Postgraduate Degree in Education, said that she also needed a job while her husband, a Pastor who holds a B.sc in Economics also needed a job.
“Before now I was doing some secretarial job but left it for business, however, after I conceived the sextuplets I could not continue with the business.
“As it stands now, I am a housewife but I need a job so that I can have a monthly income to care for them,” she said.
She thanked well-meaning Nigerians, who have come to their aid and responded to their plea for help with money and some materials, adding that the children still needed more.
“We thank the people who have helped us but we still need help with some aspects.
“We have also not got any response from any government agency, but we are still hopeful that something good will come out.”
Speaking about the condition of the babies, Ifeanyi said they were doing very well and growing well.
She said that the two-week old sextuplets had improved appreciably and that they would be discharged soon.
Ifeanyi added that the doctors had also commenced training for those who would help in taking care of the children.
“Well, they told me that I need at least three people that will help me because it’s not easy to take care of a child, talk more of six and you need to train the helpers.
“Already, I have two people on the ground, my sister is here and has commenced training, and my mother in-law came two days ago and will come today to join in the training.
“We need one more person to join us and I also go there to know the way they take care of them.
“This is because the way they take care of them is different from the way the other children are being taken care of,” she said.
NAN reports that the babies, four girls and two boys, were born by Ifeanyi on Jan. 29 at 30 weeks through Caesarean Section after undergoing In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF).
The first time mother, who was delivered of the babies, said she was actually expecting quintuplets, only to find out during delivery that there were six babies. (NAN)