When 23-year-old Yamela Molose of Philippi began dating her boyfriend, they had one thing in common, they were both twins and never would they, in their wildest dreams, believe they would become parents to premature triplets one day.
On October 11, Molose gave birth to the triplets, one girl named Onjengawe, who weighed 1650 grams, Akekho 1390 grams, and Nkosi at 910 grams.
The triplets formed part of the celebrations for World Prematurity Day, which was hosted at Groote Schuur Hospital on Thursday.
But because they were too small, they could attend the celebrations and were under the watchful eye of nursing staff and their mother.
A section of the hospital had been beautifully decorated.
Onjengawe and Akekho were discharged on November 14 as they had reached the stability weight for a preemie’s, while Nkosi, who now weighs 1.530 grams, will need to grow until he reaches 1.650 grams before he can be sent home.
For now the tiny baby boy is fed and cared for while he is comfy inside his incubator.
He is one of 500 premature babies born each year at Groote Schuur Hospital and in the past decade the hospital’s neonatal staff has delivered 5 000 preemies.
And while their little brother is still growing and gaining weight, they have to accompany their mother to the hospital daily for his feeding and kangaroo time.
“I have twins in my family. On my mother’s side, and my boyfriend is a twin, and so am I,” explained Molose.
“I am so grateful to the staff because my children are healthy.”
Neonatal nurse and operations manager Sister Melony Williams said for 23 months, they have managed to deliver babies during the pandemic while losing staff members.
“The challenge was when the fathers could not visit the hospital when their babies were born. The nursing staff, covid scared all of us. We lost staff.”
Williams added that Molose had to bring her two other babies to the hospital when kangarooing Nkosi because they were also in need of mother’s milk.
“He will be able to go home once he has reached 1,65 kilograms,” she added.
“It is important to kangaroos that they are fed breast milk that is why the mother brings the other siblings with when she comes to the hospital.
“They were placed on oxygen after birth.”
Another mother, Sihle Mtundezi, said her son, who was born at seven months and weighed just over 2 kilograms, has been dubbed a miracle by staff after he defied doctors.
The medical staff had feared the infant was brain dead and that he would never be able to move his limbs.
“He weighed just over 2 kilograms at birth, and now he weighs over 5 kilograms,” said Mtundezi.
“When he was born, the umbilical cord was around his neck, and doctors said they feared he was brain dead. They said he would not make it for the day, and two weeks later, when they were putting the machines off, he began breathing on his own.
“He was laying in my arms, and I watched him go from the colour grey to breathing on his own.
“They said he would not be able to move his legs, and look, there he is, moving his legs. He is known as the miracle baby here.”
Another two mothers, Lee-Ann Adams’s baby, Ayla Grace, weighed 650 grams at birth, while Naathima Morgan gave birth to two premature babies nearly four years apart. Xavier, aged four, weighed 1030 grams and his sister, Cayaem, weighed 875 grams and is now ten months old.
Adams is the wife of former Weekend Argus reporter Robin Adams. The couple donated 2000 nappies as well as maternity pads and linen savers to the Neo-natal ICU ward.
The women shared their experiences and were grateful to nursing staff and doctors, who they said had become like family during the hardest times of their lives.