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.