It was boundless joy in St Ives Hospital Lagos when a
53-year-old woman, (names withheld) was recently delivered of two bouncing baby
boys. The woman was conceived through Invitro Fertilisation (IVF), having
waited for over 20 years in humiliation and agony.
IVF is a process by which an egg is fertilised by sperm
outside the body. The process involves monitoring a woman’s ovulatory process,
removing ovum or ova (egg or eggs) from the woman’s ovaries and letting sperm
fertilise them in a fluid medium in a laboratory.
The fertilised egg (zygote) is then transferred to the
patient’s uterus (womb) after three to five days of being in the incubator,
with the intention of establishing a successful pregnancy.
In a chat with Saturday Vanguard in Lagos, the elated woman,
who pleaded anonymity, probably for cultural reasons, described it as “20 years
of tensed waiting for her marriage to produce fruits.”
The jubilant nursing mother and her husband said they were
not after publicity but decided to speak to the press in order to encourage
couples who are presently facing similar challenges in their marriage not to
give up, adding that it is never too late for anyone.
She admitted that she has almost given up when it was
obvious that menopause had set in but continued to exercise her religious
faith, until according to her, God directed her to St Ives Centre, even when
she was not having the required money to carry out the IVF circle.
“If one is in a marriage for two – three years, and has no
child to show for it, as an African, there will be pressure, so mine was not
exceptional. Though my people respected my person, there were pressures both from
within and outside. But l held on to God because I’m a strong Christian and l
know He never fails. I serve a living God who is faithful despite our
unfaithfulness.
“I heard about St Ives just by chance. That was in September
last year. Coincidentally, l did my Masters programme at Obafemi Awolowo
University (OAU), very close to the hospital, and l never knew this place
existed. It was divine and all things work together for those that love God.
“My advice to every woman wanting fruit of the womb is that
they should hold on to God and l pray for them that their joy should come into
manifestation soon. There is nothing impossible for God, it could be difficult
with man but certainly not with God. If He can do mine at 53, it shows no case
is concluded.
“For me, l see it as a reward for my past shame. God has
given me double glory, my two boys. It is more than a miracle. And for the
management of St Ives, l keep praying for them because they are not after one’s
money, if they were, l couldn’t have registered.
“People used to call me Big Mummy, but God has given me a
new and better name, ‘mummy twins’. l am now a fulfilled woman,” she narrated.
Her husband, who claimed to be four months older than his
wife, said he knew his wife at age 12 when they were in secondary school but
time and space set them apart for separate marriages where the man was
fortunate to have children unlike the woman.
Fate however reunited them to become a happy family today
having known each other for over 40 years.
He said the joy that the twins brought to the family had
overridden their past apprehension; trauma and agony all through the years of
his wife’s infertility, adding that she might have wept secretly on countless
occasions.
“Today, all we are saying is thank you God. My wife had
fasted and prayed and l believed that is why you see her looking like under
sixteen now. I must confess that everybody is happy,” he said.
Reacting on the feat, Chief Medical Director of St Ives
Hospital, Babatunde Okewale said the hospital’s Fertility Unit adopts a
success-oriented approach towards infertility, focusing on solution for
infertile couples at an affordable cost rather than doing endless investigation
and tests.
The cost of IVF in most Nigerian hospitals, he said, was
relatively between N650, 000 and 1 million per circle and that was largely
dependent on an individual patient. He noted that it was never a cheap process
globally as it costs about 10, 000 dollars and above 5, 000 pounds in the
United States of America and United Kingdom respectively.
Okewale pointed out that there were other procedures in
medicine that were more expensive than IVF, giving kidney transplant and hip
replacement that cost over N1 million as examples. He maintained that the
procedure was affordable by most Nigerians.
He revealed that through IVF, about 550 babies have been
delivered at his hospital which was established five years ago. He said St Ives
does a half price promo once a year, in collaboration with some
Non-Governmental Organisations.
Okewale further stated that the hospital is highly
specialised in treating repeated IVF failure, provides treatment for men
diagnosed with sperm problems and in elderly patients with a success of about
30 percent, including the conception and delivery by a 57-year-old woman.
As infertility continues on the rise worldwide, he
enumerated some of the causes as urbanization, pollution, stress, chemical exposure,
career orientation, late settlement in life, non-properly treated infections,
obesity and abuse of antibiotics. Urging Nigerian women to start bearing
children earlier, he also noted that the success of IVF was determined by age and
the earlier the better.
(Vanguard)
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