Mother Of Quadruplets Solicits Assistance To Sustain Babies

Mrs Alice Akor, a mother of five who delivered quadruplets about six months ago, on Thursday in Abuja appealed for help from government and well-meaning Nigerians. Akor said she and her family had since April been battling to make ends meet and sustain the children, and would now really appreciate help from any quarters. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Akor gave birth to quadruplets on April 23, 2013 at the National Hospital in Abuja. Akor, a National Diploma (ND) holder, said she had been finding things difficult since after the birth of her quadruplets, after struggling to pay the hospital bills of almost N700,000. She told NAN she was selling clothes before the babies’ arrival, but she has had to stop this due to the financial burden and physical demands of raising her children. “It was when my pregnancy was five months old that I knew it was quadruplets. I had earlier thought it was only one baby because it kicked like one baby. “But after I did a scan at the Daughters of Charity Hospital in Kubwa, they referred me to the National Hospital where I started the ante-natal the following week. “I was put on bed rest for six weeks before the Caesarean section on April 23, 2013,’’ the woman said. Akor said her husband had to borrow money to offset the bills before she and the children were discharged from the hospital. “I had no money to pay, and I slept there (in the hospital) for two days before they could discharge me. But, right now, I need Nigerians and the government to assist me,” she said. Akor said she also has fears about the children’s future, saying she would love to give her children the best form of education. “Training the children to higher institutions is my fear now, and I want to start to lay the foundation for a better future for them by bringing them up in the right ways,” she said. Akor said feeding the children with milk formula costs her family not less than N15,000 every week but it had become difficult to continue. She said caring for the children was also difficult because of the type of accommodation she and her husband had. “Right now, my husband does not have any job, other than staying around to help me take care of the children, while I cannot do any work for now. “So, I need Nigerians and the government to assist me,’’ Akor said. Looking back at how she came about having the quadruplets, the mother of five said it was a divine gift she and her family could not refuse. “Since I had a baby boy before, we (she and her husband) prayed for one more to make it two children for us.“Our wish was to have two children, but when it turned out to be four, who are we to query God or eject the children? “We just have to accept things as they are and find a way of sustaining them. But, in this, we will need the help of government and other Nigerians,’’ she said.(NAN)