When Twins Come a Bit Too Early
When Mary started bleeding five months into her pregnancy with twins, she knew the risks and that she needed to seek medical care. Mary immediately went to the closest hospital in Endamarariek, a small town 12 ½ miles directly south of Karatu. She stayed at the local hospital for one week and after her condition appeared to improve, she was discharged.
Upon returning home, Mary’s pregnancy progressed normally until mid-April. Just under 29 weeks into her pregnancy, she suddenly went into labor and birthed her first premature baby at home. As is common in Tanzania, a relative was there to help and escorted her back to the hospital in Endamarariek. She gave birth to the second baby on the way.
Mary reached the hospital with her twins, distraught, exhausted and devastated, knowing that their chances of survival were very low since they were premature and extremely small. Babies born at less than 28 weeks are not expected to survive since they are particularly susceptible to numerous health complications. However, when she spoke to the doctor at Endamarariek he assured her and her husband not to worry--these babies would be fine at FAME--and he referred her to us.
Mary travelled directly to FAME where her twins were placed into one of our two neonatal incubators in our Special Care Nursery. When her babies were admitted, they had an alarmingly low birth weight, each weighing less than 1,000 grams (2.2 pounds). Staff worked tirelessly to support the twins and meticulously provided medications, milk, fluids, and intensive care around the clock.
After a difficult month at FAME, the twins started showing signs of improvement by the end of May, and Mary knew they would be all right.
“It’s not a good feeling staying at the maternity ward for such a long time, but it was worth it since my babies are alive. I am thankful to FAME Medical and the team. I can’t even express how I feel, only God can pay you.”
In early June, after more than six weeks at FAME, Mary and her babies were discharged, excited to go home.
We at FAME are grateful to have the confidence of the doctor at Endamarariek, as there are many challenges when providing adequate healthcare in a low-resource setting. We are continually striving to improve our services and outcomes for our patients, and are lucky to have a medical staff committed to consistently raising the bar at FAME. As Mary was sent home with her healthy twins, she left our staff with this bit of inspiration to lift our spirits:
“What you should know is that your existence in Karatu is a miracle for the community.”
NOTE: The names in the story have been changed to protect their privacy