Midwife Tshililo Mphaphuli says delivering quadruplets at a clinic outside Musina, Limpopo, was one of the most difficult deliveries she had to perform since she started working in 2013.
Mphaphuli delivered 39-year-old Vukani Chauke's four baby girls, moments after she arrived at the facility last week.
What appeared to be a normal day after locking up turned dramatic when a woman came into the clinic, pleading for help after 4pm on Tuesday.
“I had just closed the doors when a white woman called Maria came in asking for help because there was a heavily pregnant woman in her car who was about to deliver. I asked her to bring the woman inside because I could not check her outside the gate,” Mphaphuli said.
She said Chauke was brought into the maternity section of the clinic and that is when she realised that her labour was advanced.
“I found that the woman was in the last stages of labour. I asked for an antenatal card but the woman did not have one. Her stomach was very big and it was even scary for me as a midwife,” Mphaphuli said.
“I had to act with confidence because I was the only one who can assist her no matter what,” she said, adding that the babies were delivered successfully even though they were all in a breech position.
The smallest baby came in at 1.2kg and is being kept inside an incubator until she picks up her weight, while two of the babies weighed 1.8kgs and the biggest of the quadruplets registered a birth weight of 2.08kgs.
“After seeing that the babies were all healthy, all I could do was glorify God,” she said.
The mother and four infants were transferred to the Donald Fraser Hospital near Thohoyandou soon after the delivery.
Mphaphuli’s courageous act went viral on social media, as people lauded her for going beyond the call of duty by stepping in to assist despite having knocked off from work.
Mphaphuli, from Mutengwe Mutale outside Thohoyandou, said she chose to become a nurse because of her passion for people.
Chauke, from Zimbabwe, said she was grateful for Mphaphuli's help.
The quadruplets who were swaddled in fluffy pink blankets when Sowetan arrived at the hospital have now made Chauke and her husband, Liberty Chauke, proud parents of 10, adding to their 6 older children between the ages of four and 19 years.
“The nurses told me that my labour had advanced and that my situation was high risk. I was shocked to see four babies. I was not expecting that at all. But I feel blessed,” she said.
Her husband said he was also shocked but overjoyed at the new addition to their already big family.
Liberty, who also has a twin brother, said both sides of the family have two sets of twins.
“God has done a miracle in my family. I thank the nurses who helped my wife to deliver. My children are excited to meet the babies. They keep asking when are they coming home,” he said.
He said caring for their 10 children would be difficult as they both depend on piece jobs to survive.
“I’m a blessed father with nothing to offer,” he said.
Donald Fraser Hospital dietician Tshepo Ramothwala said the babies were being fed with a special formula to help with their development as they were all underweight.
Ramothwala said they would continue to monitor the babies’ development and advise the parents on a nutrition plan.
Health MEC Phophi Ramathuba congratulated the midwives and all other nurses who carried out the risky delivery which should normally be done at a hospital.
“Looking at the complexity of the process they underwent in order to deliver these children, we are really proud of their dedication.
“Also, the fact that the nurses had knocked off but had to go back to be on duty just to assist this one pregnant woman also needs to be commended," Ramathuba said.
mahopoz@sowetan.co.za
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