Kenyan Mother who Gave Birth to Five Babies Loses Four a Day Later

A mother in Juja, Kenya, has lost four of her five newborn babies, just one day after giving birth to quintuplets in a rare natural delivery, according to local media reports.

The 28-year-old mother, identified as Mercy Kanini, gave birth to four girls and one boy at Thika Level Five Hospital on September 14, according to reports.

The babies were born prematurely and weighed between 630 and 800 grammes.

All five newborns were transferred to Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya's largest referral hospital, for specialised neonatal care because of their extremely low birth weights and premature birth.

Four of the babies later died. The fifth remains in hospital receiving specialised care, according to reports.

The family had initially been told that Kanini was carrying four babies. The fifth baby was discovered only during delivery, according to reports.

Kanini delivered all five babies vaginally. Medical staff had initially considered a Caesarean section after the first baby was delivered, but she was subsequently allowed to continue with a natural delivery.

The births were described by the family as a moment of celebration before the deaths of four of the newborns turned the event into a tragedy.

Kanini's husband, Evans Nyamhanga, had earlier appealed for help as the family faced the demands of caring for five extremely premature newborns.

The couple already have two children, a boy and a girl.

The surviving baby remains under specialised neonatal care at Kenyatta National Hospital,in Nairobi.