Two Families’ Journeys

Macklin Namara, 27, and her husband Kenneth Batuura, residents of Kyeizooba Igara Bushenyi district, were overjoyed when they discovered they were having quadruplets. “I visited other facilities for more scans, and I got mixed reactions. When I told my husband, who wasn’t around at the time, he calmed me down and welcomed it happily,” Namara said, reminiscing about her husband’s reaction.The couple had spent two years in marriage, and this was their first pregnancy detected at the eighth week. Being a high-order pregnancy, it was wise for the couple to seek the highly specialized services of MRRH, away from home peripheral facilities. As her pregnancy progressed, Namara was admitted to the High-Risk Unit of Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital (MRRH) for close monitoring and care. Counseling was paramount as a team of dedicated medics continuously monitored both the mother and unborn babies. “I was experiencing difficulty breathing, and the babies were pushing against my diaphragm,” she explains.

Namara speaks with a joyful face as she looks at the four little ones, two boys and two girls weighing 1.4kgs to 1.6kgs respectively. Being preterm babies, they have to be admitted to MRRH’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) as the pediatric team continues to provide them with the best possible care.

“We assess each baby to determine if their needs are being met. When they are preterm, they may struggle with breastfeeding, requiring intravenous (IV) fluids, and the family should receive health education,” said Doreen Katushabe, the NICU In-charge.

Caring for the quadruplets has been challenging for the husband, who should be working. “I change diapers every two hours, feed them every two hours. This is a full-time job, which means I can’t expect to be at work for some time. I also need two maids,” Batuura said.

Namara’s natural conception is a testament to the power of nature. While reproductive assisted technologies like in vitro fertilization, genetic factors can increase the likelihood of quadruplet pregnancies, her case is a reminder that miracles can still happen naturally.

Dr. Caxton Kakama was among the team of  doctors that delivered her through cesarean section, and it was her second pregnancy, having had identical twins in 2018.

Amumpaire’s offspring weighed 1.6kgs to 1.9kgs respectively and had to be taken to NICU to come to terms and only returned to the mother for breastfeeding.

A beaming face is realized as Amumpaire talks about her beautiful bouncing neonates, but the husband’s life is already entangled in the cage of worries.

Leonidas Arinaitwe, 37, a local photographer and farmer, is perturbed about how to meet his financial obligations to support the family with his daily monthly income of 250,000 Uganda shillings.

“I am also a farmer who grows coffees and matooke on a small scale because of limited land. My income is very small compared to my already existing family, but with four more I am headed for a bigger struggle”, he says.