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A mother’s account of caring for quadruplet
● The quadruplets at birth
Helping each of four boys of the same age do their assignments is not a joke at all; it is very tiring,” Ms. Jennifer Danso, a mother of quadruplets, expressed her sentiment in an interview with The Spectator, recently.
She said that although carrying one pregnancy and giving birth to four babies at a go made her feel very blessed by God, this rather changed her life suddenly and completely.
“I talk and talk and talk, and people say I talk too much, but I must talk to make sure my children always do the right thing,” she said.
Ms. Jennifer Danso, currently unemployed, and her husband, Mr. Philip Ahianyevi, a salesperson, who are residents of Teshie Penny in the Ledzokuku Municipality in the Greater Accra Region, said: “We are happy with the children despite the challenges that come with taking care of quadruplets.
The boys, namely, Dominic, Derrick, Desmond and David, were born on July 26, 2018.
Ms. Danso, talking about daily activities, said: “I wake them up at about 5 a.m. to get them ready for school, so that they are not late for classes but sometimes we still end getting late.”
She said she was unable to do any business because there was too much work to do as far as the welfare of the children was concerned.
“I tried a cleaning job, but it didn’t work out, and a few weeks ago I was working at a shop to make some money to support the home but my boys started complaining bitterly that I had ignored them, and it was breaking my heart, so I had to stop,” she disclosed.
She said she had to wash daily for the children to always look neat in their clothes.
Ms. Danso said she was fortunate to have a supportive husband who, among other things, always bathed them and helped dress them up for school, but she still felt the pressure of caring for them.
“We have been helping each other and trying to do our best for the children. Currently, we have no help, so honestly, it is tiring but I know we shall overcome. By God’s grace, they would soon be five years old, and we are moving forward,” she expressed optimism.
She said that though it was tough raising them, the fact that they sometimes do things to make her laugh cheered her up.
She said three of the boys were identical, while Dominic looked different.
“Sometimes it is difficult to tell the difference, so I have to look at their faces carefully to tell who is who or who has done something mischievous,” she said, smiling.
Ms. Danso recalled that when she got pregnant, the scan revealed she would have a set of twins, which she was not really surprised about because both she and her husband came from a family with twins.
“Multiple births are a blessing that comes with a huge responsibility, and if you have no help or the means to raise them, it is frustrating, but God has always been my strength and support,” she said.
She said she hoped to get another job very soon with a flexible schedule so that she could make some income to support the home because she appreciated the fact that times were hard and things were not easy for her husband.
Ms. Danso expressed appreciation to some members of the public who showed them love sometimes when they met them and said no matter how small the support was, it gave them some relief.
The couple had another son after the quadruplets, so they currently have five sons.
From Dzifa Tetteh Tay, Tema.
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Swedru All Blacks back to winning ways, Roshan humble King Faisal
Sekondi Rospak FC made it eight wins in eight successive home games after three second-half goals from John Amoah, Joseph Ntow and Stephen Anthony Kofi. John Amoah opened the scoring in the 55th minute after a barren first half. Joseph Ntow added to the tally in the 56th minute before Stephen Anthony Kofi rounded things up in the 74th minute to give Rospak a 3-0 win over former Premier League side King Faisal.
Elsewhere at Swedru – leaders Swedru All Blacks humbled PAC Academy in an emphatic 2-0 win. Zayat Bubakari scored first for Swedru All Blacks in the 27th minute before Rudolf Junior Nana Kwasi Mensah made it 2-0 in the 34th minute. Swedru All Blacks are top of the table with 36 points – 4 points ahead of second placed Rospak FC.
Meanwhile, Former Premier League side Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs recorded their fourth successive home victory after beaten New Edubiase United 2-1 at the Robert Mensah Park. Enoch Odoom struck first for Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs in the 19th minute but Steven Asante equalized for New Edubiase United before halftime. After the interval, Godfred Eshun scored from distance in the 65th minute to help Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs secure all the points.
Here are the results in Zone Two
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Cervical Cancer alert: Avoid sex at early age
The Programmes Manager of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Mary Efua Commeh, has advised young girls to avoid sex at an early age.
This, she explained, will give the cervix the opportunity to mature before they become sexually active.
“You need to delay what we call the first sexual intercourse as much as possible to give the cervix the opportunity to mature before the person becomes sexually active,” she said.
Dr Commeh stated this in an interview with The Spectator in Accra on Tuesday as a part of the Cervical Cancer awareness month.
According to her, cervical cancer was the second leading female cancer in Ghana with a total of about 3,072 cases annually, and out of that, 1,815 deaths are recorded, representing more than 50 per cent.
She indicated that “If young girls are going to be sexually active, then you need to talk to your parents about being vaccinated.”
She explained that vaccinating young girls against human papillomavirus (HPV) has been found to be a very effective way of preventing cervical cancer.
“There are countries that started HPV vaccination years ago and they are not seeing any cervical cancers now because they would have eliminated most of the high-risk HPVs in their women. So if the high-risk HPV is not there, then obviously the results on cervical cancers are going to go down,” she added.
Dr Commmey said the HPV vaccination is recommended for young girls aged nine to 14 years, adding that it had been found to be highly effective, not just for cervical cancers but for other HPV-related cancers, such as anal cancers, cancers of the vagina, genital warts, amongst others.
She further elaborated that the idea is to put up a barrier before the HPV comes in and that once a young female encounters it, she is already protected.
She also mentioned that for cervical cancers, the main cause is called HPV infection, saying generally, all sexually active women acquire HPV at some point in their lives.
However, the Programmes Manager of NCDs at the GHS mentioned that the body has a way of clearing the HPV, explaining that it is a natural mechanism that goes on, unfortunately, there are a few women whose HPV persists.
Moreover, she noted that the numbers for Cervical Cancer tend to be much higher because at times, clients would wait, and try all sorts of medications before they finally report to the health facility saying “we actually lose some women before they get to the hospitals with over 75 per cent of the cases coming in its third and fourth stages.”
Dr Commey, therefore, called for public awareness while ensuring the availability of information for prevention and control.
By Jemima Esinam Kuatsinu
