Muslimat AbdulWaheed, 37, has given birth to quadruplets seven years after her fourth child was born, despite her and her husband's determination to stop having children.
The couple, who live in Gwako, a neighborhood of Gwagwalada in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, said they were struggling to feed their family of six, so they decided to stop having children.
Ibrahim Abdulwaheed, a technician, said he doesn't get much work in Gwako, a sleepy neighborhood in Nigeria's capital, and his wife's supply shop was flooded in 2020.
As a result, adding another member to the family will further exacerbate their vulnerable circumstances.
However, because the family couldn't afford monthly N500 contraceptive pills at the time, the wife became pregnant and gave birth to quadruplets on November 11, leaving her with eight children to look after.
Mrs Abdulwaheed is one of 9.5 million Nigerian women of reproductive age who desire to postpone pregnancy but are unable to do so owing to a variety of issues, including poverty.
As a result, the number of unexpected pregnancies is rising, potentially leading to unsafe abortions, which account for five to thirteen percent of all maternal fatalities and unintended births.
Despite the fact that the Nigeria Family Planning Blueprint, 2020-2024, outlines the country's objectives to reach a revised goal modern Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (mCPR) of 27% by 2024, funding is insufficient to meet the unmet demand for family planning services.
Family planning, according to the, allows people and couples to predict and achieve their desired number of children, as well as the spacing and timing of their births.
However, Musilimat Abdulwaheed's decision is solely based on how long she can afford them.
The hardship of family planning
Only one dollar! That is the expense of Mrs Abdulwaheed's monthly contraception, which she uses to avoid becoming pregnant. It was difficult to pay that monthly fee when there were so many other expenses to pay.
The woman managed to stay on birth control pills for six years after the birth of her fourth child, but the family's situation worsened.
The Abdulwaheeds' house and provision store were destroyed by a flood in the Gwako village in mid-2020.
"A big flood damaged our house, my provision shop, and carried away all we had between May and June of 2020," Mrs Abdulwaheed added.
"We sold the woods from the already-destroyed home and leased a one-room flat for N24,000 as a result," she explained.
Mrs Abdulwaheed said that it became increasingly difficult for her to obtain the medications, and that she ultimately caved in to pressure in early 2021.
"There was no money for the pill early this year, and my husband and I couldn't afford to be apart," the 37-year-old lady explained.
Mr Abdulwaheed was compelled to use the withdrawal technique due to a lack of finances to get contraceptives.
Method of withdrawal
The withdrawal method, also known as the "pull out method" or "coitus interruptus," is a technique for preventing pregnancy that involves removing the penis from the va.gina prior to eja-culation.
This isn't a particularly effective way of pregnancy control because it carries the danger of sexually transmitted illness.
Furthermore, many experts warn that the approach is extremely dangerous if one is actively attempting to avoid pregnancy.
They claim this is because a little amount of pre-ejaculate se-men, which contains sperm, is produced before to male or-gasm and eja-culation.
"If you're ovulating, even this tiny quantity of se-men can lead to pregnancy," a doctor explained.
'Unwanted pregnancy' is a term used to describe a pregnancy that is not wanted
Meanwhile, Mrs Abdulwaheed reported that her menstruation had been late for weeks by the end of March.
She became unwell during that time, unknowing of her condition, and was hurried to the community health center, where it was determined that she was pregnant.
Mr Abdulwaheed described the news as a "mixed grill" of a gift and an unexpected duty.
The couple decided to terminate the pregnancy due to their financial situation.
"Earlier this year, my wife was taken to my house unconscious, and a laboratory examination later revealed that she was pregnant." Despite her insistence on aborting it, I rejected since it is against my faith," Aminat Babalola, a community health practitioner, stated.
Ms Babalola, on the other hand, said she agreed to the woman's requests and went forward with the abortion.
"I told her I'd perform the abortion because I was afraid she'd do it elsewhere, putting her life in jeopardy."
"I continued to treat her for her condition, but I urged her to allow me a month to finish the abortion," she explained.
The scenario took a turn, however, when the wife saw a growing bulge in her tummy and confronted the caretaker for neglecting to terminate the pregnancy on her behalf.
"She was sobbing because she couldn't care for another child." She said that I should have told her that I couldn't terminate the baby so she could find another solution. "But we didn't know she was carrying quadruplets at the time," Ms Babalola explained.
Mr Abdulwaheed's N24,000 rent for their one-room flat had run out at the time, and the family was evicted, leaving them destitute.
Ms Babalola stated that the entire family of six finally relocated to her flat.
Mrs Abdulwaheed was carrying four Foetuses, according to a scan, she claimed. "At this moment, she was heartbroken, and her blood pressure had risen to beyond 200." "When she found out she was carrying quadruplets, she grieved every day," Ms Babalola added.
"Even getting treatment at a specialty hospital was a significant difficulty for us since I did my hardest to help the family but I ran out of options," she explained, adding, "I'm delighted we have the babies today and they are all well." We implore Nigerians to help these children in whatever manner they can."
scream for assistance
Ms Babalola claimed she sought assistance from a pharmacist in Gwako, who brought them to Hassan Zakari, chairman of the El-Hussain specialty hospital in Dakwa, Dei-Dei.
"After a buddy requested assistance, I admitted them into my hospital." Mr Zakari stated, "I asked the CMD of this hospital to look after them and offer any medical attention they require free of charge."
He claims that since Mrs Abdulwaheed was brought in four months ago, she has received prenatal care and has delivered her infants without incurring any costs.
"We convinced her not to abort the pregnancy and pledged to assume responsibility for the prenatal care through delivery," said Barau David, the hospital's top medical director.
"We managed her until she was 34 weeks pregnant, then scheduled her for an elective Caesarean Section, and the kids were successfully delivered."
Funding for the Appeal
Mr Zakari stated that the hospital could not care for the family indefinitely and that they will be released shortly.
He did say, though, that an appeal fund had been set up to help the woman and her children find a place to call home.
"We did our best, but we need to release them as quickly as possible." Unfortunately, the family is not required to travel. They can't even afford to pay for the N24,000 flat they leased in Gwagwalada before being evicted.
The doctor explained, "We decided to start an appeal fund so that the mother and baby had a place to return to, food to eat, and clothes to wear."
Mrs Abdulwaheed is pleading with the public to help her family care for the quadruplets who were born recently.
"I can't care for children since my husband is unemployed, we're homeless, and we don't have enough food to eat, so it's pointless to bring kids into this world."
"I implore the general people to assist us. "We need help raising these infants that God has given us," she explained.
6035354912 is the account number for the Appeal Fund.
Keystone Bank is the name of the bank.
Account name: Taye, Kehinde, Idowu, Alaba Abdul Waheed Muslimat Appeal Fund
