Mercy Kanini, the Juja woman who made headlines after delivering five babies through normal delivery at Thika Level Five Hospital, has lost all five infants at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH).
The premature babies had been transferred to KNH for specialised neonatal care because of their extremely low birth weights.
The infants weighed between 630 and 800 grammes, placing them at high risk due to extreme prematurity.
Kanini had delivered the quintuplets at Thika Level Five Hospital in a rare occurrence believed to be one of only a handful of such cases recorded in Kenya.
She gave birth to the first baby shortly after arriving at the hospital, after which nurses began preparing her for a Caesarean section.
However, doctors later determined that she could deliver the remaining babies normally.
“After some time, I don’t know what happened, they said I could deliver normally. I was very happy when I learnt that I had delivered five babies,” Kanini said after the delivery.
She said she was not afraid during the birth and praised the medical team for the care she received.
“I was not afraid. The way I was attended to made me happy,” she said.
“My babies were placed in nurseries and attended to well,” she added.
The quintuplets were Kanini’s third pregnancy. She had previously given birth to a boy and a girl.
Her husband, Evans Nyamhanga, described the birth of the five babies as a miracle.
“I was expecting four babies, but God is a God of miracles. We have got five,” he said.
Nyamhanga had appealed for financial support to help the family meet the costs associated with caring for the premature infants.
The family had also sought assistance from Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi and other well-wishers, with the governor providing an ambulance to support the family.
The deaths of the five infants now mark a tragic turn in the story that had attracted widespread attention following the rare quintuplet delivery.
