Medical staff praised as pre-term boy triplets born

A Mother of all-boy set of triplet Owethu Maceba praises Medical team of Stanger Hospital who helped her to deliver her babies safe after 33 weeks into her pregnancy.

A Mother of all-boy set of triplet Owethu Maceba praises Medical team of Stanger Hospital who helped her to deliver her babies safe after 33 weeks into her pregnancy.

Published May 19, 2018

Share

DURBAN - Owethu Macebo, a mother of triplet boys praised the medical staff of  Stanger Hospital who helped her deliver her newborns 33 weeks into her pregnancy, and take care of the new mom and her babies.

Birth at 33 weeks is unusual and risky, especially the birth of triplets.

The 31-year-old mother, from Darnall in Ilembe District, stayed at Stanger Hospital for a month, under the supervision of doctors, as she awaited the arrival of her triplets.

This week she underwent a Caesarean Section and gave birth to three boys named Esakhe, Wenzile, Ibonile, who came weighing in at 1.75kg, 1.7kg and 1.5kg respectively.

A Mother of all-boy set of triplet Owethu Maceba praises Medical team of Stanger Hospital who helped her to deliver her babies safe after 33 weeks into her pregnancy.

The operation lasted nearly an hour. Doctors said had the pregnancy entered its 34th week, Macebo and her unborn children would be at high risk because of challenges with the slow growth rate of the triplets.

“I’m very grateful to everyone who helped me deliver. Even at the maternity ward, where I’ve been for a whole month, I’ve had a very good stay. I’m very thankful,” said Macebo, whose family has a history of twin-births.

The delivery was the first-ever for 30-year-old Dr Mpilo Zimu, who led the obstetric, neonatal, and anesthetics team that delivered the triplets.

He was assisted by pediatrician specialists Dr Heloise Goodfellow, Dr Victor Olujobi, and Dr Nalisu Mazubane.

“It was more of a team effort,” Zimu said.

“I was working with the consultants, and it just so happened that on that day of the surgery I was one of the doctors allocated for theater.

"Obviously, they were delivered a bit pre-term. So, we had to be careful in terms of how we deliver them because it’s small babies, and whether they’re presenting head or buttocks first. That plays a role. But I wasn’t alone. There were other doctors who were there as well. It was my first time delivering triplets. It was a good experience, but it wasn’t different from any other Caesarean section," he said.

Zimu added that the only difference was the number of babies being born.

KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Health, Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo, congratulated the team on their successful operation.

Stanger Hospital Paediatrician specialists, Dr Victor Olujobi, Dr Nalisu Mazubane and Dr Heloise Goodfellow whop assisted Owethu Macebo to deliver all-boy set of triplet.

"We are very excited. We want to congratulate the family and the hospital. 33 weeks is not really the time of giving birth. You still need another month to go, but something happened and these babies were born. To be born with a small weight, and early in life like that, at a hospital with the best facilities is another thing that is wonderful. We are confident, in fact certain, that these triplets will do well at Stanger Hospital, because this facility has one of the best neonatal care units,” said Dhlomo.

SUNDAY TRIBUNE

Related Topics: