Mother of 7 delivers conjoined twins in Bauchi

By Patience Ogbodo

BAUCHI —  A 28-year-old mother of seven children, Binta Isa, has delivered conjoined twins in Guduba village of Ningi Local Government Area of Bauchi State.

The mother and her twins, who are both receiving treatment at the General Hospital, Ningi, told Vanguard  that it was the first time anybody from her family and that of her husband   would deliver this kind of twins.

The mother who appeared healthy with her twins told our correspondent, who visited her on her hospital bed yesterday where she was rushed to immediately after delivering her twins, that she had never attended ante-natal clinic in all her life.

Chief Medical Officer of Ningi General Hospital, Dr. Bakunawa Garba Bello, said the woman delivered the twins Saturday night at about  11:20 p.m. in her village which is about three kilometres along Ningi-Kano road from the local government headquarters.

He said when they  brought them to the hospital, the mother was in shock while the twins were in distress, adding that the case was rare because they were joined at the abdomen with two “active legs” on one side and deformed two legs on the other, sharing one umbilical cord and anus.

Bello said from what they could see from their genetalia, they appeared to be males.

He said: “This is the first viable recorded case of such a birth in the hospital and probably in the entire local government area. They have some special peculiarities because of the way they are fused. It is not common to have twins joined at the abdomen with a common pelvis most likely affecting their urogenital system.”

According to him, such birth is an indication that the ante-natal system was not well integrated, adding that other reasons may be deficiency in some minerals and vitamins such as folic acid or due to some infections.

The chief medical officer said he had already contacted a consultant pediatrician at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital  who would assess the twins for possible separation.

According to him, “the hospital is one of the few places in the country where attempt for separation of such conjoined twins can be made.