Waiting for 12 years in a consumated marriage to hear the cry of a baby and eventually giving birth to one or two is a thing of celebrations, but giving birth to four at once is nothing short of what people will want to call a miracle.
The victory song of joy of a Delta woman from Ndokwa West Local Government Area, Mrs. Gladys Okodo Omodiagbe, rented the air when our correspondent went to witness the contagious ecstasy of the mother of the quadruplets on Friday at the Coastal Specialist Clinic in Warri, Delta State.
There, she took our correspondent on her 12-year journey of waiting to the time she conceived, gave birth and how she is enjoying the bundles of joy and duties that come with nursing four babies at once!
Omodiagbe said that she did not experience much sadness and anxiety during her waiting period because she got married to a peaceful and supportive man from Edo State, Mr. Amos Omodiagbe, and that her family and in-laws have been nothing short of a supportive system to her. According to her, her in-laws were not a nuisance to her while she was waiting as there was no form of pressure from them to have a child for their son.
“I got married in 2011. The day I got married was the happiest day of my life because I was “out of the market” as they normally say. It was a wonderful day and every woman who got married would be hoping that she would carry her child in the next nine months, but that was not the case.
“When I waited for that period and I kept seeing my monthly flow, at first, I didn’t see it as anything; at least, I was still enjoying my time with my husband. It was just coming like that until one year passed, two years passed, three years and so on. That was when it dawned on me that ‘Haaa you are married oo people will soon start asking questions oo.’
“Family members will be asking. They won’t come to you and ask directly, but tongues were wagging. I waited for five years, six years believing in God because he is the One who gives children. I waited till it got to 12 years. It was in the 12th year that the God of all Gods came through for me.
“The first year till the 11th year I stayed, though I was praying and believing God, I didn’t go through much because, I have a lovely family that supported me, prayed with me and waited with me throughout that phase.
“My husband and I was believing God that when it was time, He was going to come through and he did. God gave me a wonderful husband that gave me peace during my waiting period.
“He did not disturb, in fact, I was always the one that was worrying and when he sees me bothered about the situation, he would tell me that God has not told him that He would not give him children and that when it’s time, the children would come and when it was time, the children came. He was very supportive from day one. My in-laws were not left out of my support system.
“They all believed in God and that He is the one that gives children. When you have people around you, that are encouraging and praying with you, it will make the journey easy for you. I have a wonderful mother and sister-in-law that is always with me. She has been here. My spiritual mother has been there from the day one of my journey,” she narrated.
It is interesting to note that while Mrs Omodiagbe was yet to conceive, her desire was just to have one child at a time to wipe her shame, but God came to compensate her in doubles for her trouble.
She further narrated: “After waiting for 12 years, I finally took in naturally in May, 2023. At first, I didn’t know I was carrying quadruplets because when we went for the first scan, the doctor said it was four but it was not clear. It became very clear when we did the second scan in the 16th week of the pregnancy.
“When I found out I was having four babies, I was so happy. The doctor asked me a question, he said; “Can you carry it?” I told him that I could by the special Grace of God. The language I used was that God will help me to carry them.
“I was scared because it was my first pregnancy and finding out they were four, I didn’t know what to expect. During the seven months journey, there were complications, but God helped me.
“I was at home when my water broke and I was scared, my husband was scared. We didn’t know what to expect. Even the car that brought us to the hospital was filled with blood.
“The pregnancy did not get to nine months that was why the children were in incubator for a long time. They came out in the seventh month through Caesarean section and had to stay in the incubator for several weeks. The babies are three boys and a girl. The last one came out of the incubator three days ago (Tuesday).
“After the delivery, I had a lot of blood transfusion. The doctors that handled the CS were professionals because there were no complications after the section. Good used the doctors to help us. Four of the babies were put in incubator. Even the last baby did not weigh up to a kilogram. But today, with the help of God and the doctors, they are doing fine. When the water broke, we were directed to this hospital by loved words.”
The Omodiagbes are committed members of the Living Faith Church also known as Winners Chapel headquartered in Water Resources, Effurun, and it is not a surprise they’d been expressing so much faith in God to have their sorrow turned into joy. She talks more about the supports she’s been getting from members of the church and family members. Speaking on the viral news that she’s stuck in the hospital unable to clear her bills, the obviously joyous mother-of-four said nothing of such has happened.
“Even after the delivery and everything, my family has been very supportive when it comes to me and the babies. The church has been very supportive too. They came to name the babies. They are aware of the remaining bills running to about N5 million and they are working on helping out,” she enthused.
When asked what it was like to look after four babies at once, she took in a deep breath and gave a wide and exhausting smile displaying joy and fatigue at the same time. Then she spoke, yawning: “Sometimes at night when they are crying and I am finding it difficult to sleep, I just say, Father thank you because I got to experience the joy and duties of motherhood. There are so many woman waiting to stay awake to take care of their children, but I’m here experiencing the joy of taking care of four. Even when they are crying incessantly at night, instead of complaining, I just give God thanks.”
Speaking on the challenges of feeding since birthing the babies, she said that the economy of the country has not been helping matters. She rued the high cost of baby food, adding that the babies finish one container sold for about N5, 000 in a day!
“In this country, we are in now, it is not easy to feed one baby not to talk of four at once. But I believe that God’s perfect gift does not come with sorrow. I believe that God will always supply their needs.
“As per breastfeeding them, while I’m feeding one or two of the babies, I’ll extract breast milk for the other two,” she noted.
Meanwhile, Mrs Omodiagbe, whose husband was not on ground during our correspondent’s visit on Friday, frowned at some reports suggesting that she was stuck or held hostage in the hospital because she was unable to pay her bills. This, she reiterated vehemently, was far from the truth.
She said: “I have seen a lot of headlines saying the hospital held us against our wish and I want to clear the air on that. The hospital did not hold us hostage, they did not hold us against our will. The last baby came out three days ago.
“The doctors have been nice, the nurses have been there, the cleaners and hospital workers have been very nice to us. The wife of the owner of the clinic even gave the children gifts. So why will I say they are holding us hostage? God has used them to help me and my children and we are owing which we need to pay; so they are not holding us hostage.
“We are just here, waiting for the last baby to come out of the I incubator and trying to get funds to pay off our bill. If we are able to pay off our bill, we will go.”
Her sister-in-law, Mariam Doghor, who was helping her with the babies, also corroborated her claim, saying that they were never held against their will by the hospital.
“The publication came out some days ago. When we saw it, we were shocked that some bloggers wrote that the hospital was holding us against our will. I am the sister-in-law and I have been here all these while and what we were waiting for was for the last baby to leave the incubator.
“It was on Wednesday that the baby was brought out of the incubator. It was on Thursday that we saw a publication stating that, we were held hostage because we were not able to pay the hospital bill.
“Actually, we asked for help from friends and family members. The bill is huge, but we need to clear it. So, we just want to clear the air on that speculation,” she said.
Our correspondent approached staffers of the hospital, specifically the doctors managing the mother and her babies, to hear how they’d been able to manage the bundles of joy during and after birth. The Public Relations Officer (PRO), Mrs Tosan Omagbemi, however, said she Alon was authorised to speak on the issue.
She also refuted the hospital claim that the mother and her quadruplets were held hostage, saying rather it has been kind to them.
It will, however, be recalled that one Comrade Derrick Oritsematosan Agberen, who’s the National Coordinator of No Justice, No Peace Initiative, had earlier in the week, called, in an open latter, for help from the Delta State government, Winners Chapel worldwide and members of the public to offset the bills incurred by the couple while in the hospital.
“It is necessary that I bring to the notice of the public the plight of a dedicated Christian family,” he disclosed.
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