Mrs Helen Ogeah, a new mum could not control her joy when The PUNCH correspondent met her.
Helen and Emmanuel Ogeah married on April 5, 2010, at the All Saints
Anglican Church, Kebu, Asaba, Delta State. She was already pregnant and
had expected that in a few months time from then, she would carry their
child or children. But things didn’t turn out as planned because she
lost the pregnancy at four months.
She said, “I got married on April 5, 2010 at the All Saints Anglican
Church, Kebu, Asaba, Delta State. We were joined by Reverend Canon
Chukwudi Ekpemuka and Reverend Umeh. I was expecting to have a baby
after nine months. But I lost the baby at four months.’’
After losing the pregnancy, she said it became difficult to get pregnant
again. She kept trying for a while with no positive result. But after a
few months, her prayers were answered. But the joy was also
short-lived. She told Sunday PUNCH that she lost the pregnancy again and
the miscarriage battle continued for 11 years alongside other
complications.
She stated, “After I lost the first pregnancy, I didn’t get pregnant
immediately but after a few months, I got pregnant again but my joy was
short-lived when I lost the pregnancy too. The miscarriages continued
and the worst was when I lost one at six months. The embryos were either
evacuated or was removed through the normal delivery process.
“It was a difficult time for me, physically, emotionally and mentally.
The trauma of losing pregnancies, going into the labour room to give
birth to a dead child and the ordeal of people asking me what happened
after the protruded belly went down were really painful.”
Narrating further, Helen said the last pregnancy she had was an ectopic
pregnancy, adding that she visited many hospitals for medical help which
included the Federal Medical Centre, Asaba, a private hospital owned by
Catholic known as Saint Joseph, Temple Clinic, Saint Rebecca Hospital
and Life Care Hospital among others.
She stated, “The news was obviously a bad one. I was distraught. I
didn’t just lose the child but I also lost a fallopian tube and my womb
was weak. In fact, the doctor told me that I could never carry a child
again and that it was better for me to adopt a child. I got home feeling
dejected and broke the news to my husband. I thank my husband for his
encouragement. He always told me not to worry that God’s report was
different from that of man.’’
Helen said she tried not to see the issue as a spiritual battle as her
husband repeatedly assured her that with technology, they could have
their own children.
According to her, her sadness ended when God led her to an Abuja-based doctor who God used to end their years of childlessness.
Helen added, “After a friend recommended a hospital in Abuja to me, I
went there with her after discussing with my husband. The doctor in
charge told me that I had no problem and all I needed to do was to
undergo surgery. I underwent surgery in March 2020 and returned home two
days before the COVID-19 lockdown.
“After the surgery, he told me to rest for some weeks. Thankfully, I
missed my period in August. Two weeks after confirmation that I was
pregnant, I started bleeding again. I thought I would lose the
pregnancy. I then went for an ultrasound scan. The scan showed three
sacs indicating three babies. I was saddened by the development. I asked
the doctor that I had been unable to carry a baby to term, how would I
carry three?
“He assured me that I would succeed. I was admitted at the hospital from
the first month till I was delivered of the three babies through
caesarean section in March 2021.” The woman noted that her in-laws stood
by her during the tribulations.
“When I lost my first pregnancy, some people came to persuade me to go
somewhere with them but my husband was against it. He told me that it
was not a problem for native doctors and the last one I had, I handled
it properly,” she said.
Helen described the day she held her babies in her arms as a great moment. She said, “The
day I opened my eyes and saw my triplets, I was overjoyed and started
laughing but my husband shed tears of joy seeing the three girls. The
first baby was named Nkemdilim meaning ‘this one is my own,’ the second
baby bears Nkemakonam meaning ‘May I not lack what is mine’ while the
third baby was christened Nkechukwudi meaning what God said.”
She told our correspondent that two of the triplets are identical
with varying complexion while the third one has different features,
allowing her to differentiate one from the other.
Asked if she would like to have another baby, the excited mother said, “No. I am okay with the triplets.”
Speaking with our correspondent, the father of three said they looked
unto God during the period he described as “very difficult.’’
He said, “People recommended all sorts of things to us but I told
them that there was no need because God would manifest at the right
time. I kept trying to find out what the issue was but none of the
doctors could really give us an answer to what was wrong.
“It got to a stage that I could no longer copulate with her. My wife had
to go to our reverend. I told him it wasn’t that I hated her. I was
just worried with the stillbirths. We visited many hospitals to find out
what the issue was but no one had an answer.”
The realtor added that it became more traumatising when the doctor
confided in him that his wife could no longer carry a child as her womb
was weak due to multiple evacuations.
He stated, “When she had ectopic pregnancy and the doctor told me
that my wife could no longer give birth, I had to keep it to myself for a
long time in order not to discourage her from trying. Only God knows
what happened because she was always getting pregnant only that to give
birth was never successful. I tried to be strong but I still lived in
doubt but during the COVID-19, God did the miracle.”
Emmanuel said he got weary when his wife told him of the expected date of delivery of the triplets because of past episodes.
He said, “I was afraid when she called me that I should come to the
theatre. While in the theatre and I heard the children cry, I was
shocked. I couldn’t do anything than shed tears; I shed tears of joy. I
finally heard the cries of children after many stillbirths. In the past,
I was shown dead babies. But that day in the theatre, I saw the
greatness of God. I thought it was a movie. I was excited that my wife
gave birth to our children.
“I am really excited. I can’t even concentrate at work. I keep running
home to see the babies every now and then. My wife is a cloth designer;
I had to let her do that because she needed something to keep her
busy.’’
He added that his wife used to be moody whenever she saw families and
their babies, noting that he devised ways to make her happy by taking
her out to fun spots.
***
Source: The PUNCH
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