Woman, 25, appeals for help after giving birth to conjoined twins in Bungoma

A 25- year-old woman has given birth to a set of conjoined twins in Bungoma County.

The twins, both boys weighing 5 kilograms each, were delivered via a Caesarian Section at Nabwala Hospital in Mayanja Vitungu area of Kanduyi constituency on Wednesday.

According to lead pediatrician Dr. Adisa Alea, who spoke to Citizen Digital, the twins were immediately rushed to Bungoma County Referral Hospital following their successful delivery after doctors noticed that they were conjoined from the chest down to the abdomen.

Dr. Alea likewise revealed that most of the infants' organs remain intact, but that they will need to be ferried to the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) for specialized treatment and separation.

Dr. Dickens Lubanga, the lead pediatrician at Bungoma Referral Hospital, while revealing that the infants were in stable condition, noted that the health facility had never handled a case of conjoined twins ever before.

According to Dr. Lubanga, conjoined twins occur once in every 60,000 births, a very rare phenomenon in the world of medicine.

"They only share some parts of the bowels and a city scan will be done to have to know which part of the intestines they share. They have one umbilical cord but they are breathing well on their own," he said.

He went on to express gratitude to the Kenyatta National Hospital for agreeing to separate the twins, citing that the Nairobi-based facility has the personnel and facilities to perform the said operation.

Dr. Lubanga correspondingly advised expectant mothers to ensure that they sign up for antenatal ultrasound sessions at least three times during their gestation period.

This, he says, will enable them to make appropriate arrangements for delivery.

The twins' mother, Ruth Nafula Wechuli, on her part stated that she checked in to Nabwala Hospital on Wednesday at 11pm after developing labor pains.

Nafula, who hails from Kanduyi constituency's Mayanja area, said that the birth took her and most of her matrimonial relatives by surprise.

She appealed to well wishers to help foot the bill of the operation saying she is a house wife and her husband is a small scale farmer, hence they cannot afford to pick up the tab.

Separation of conjoined twins is often a demanding undertaking that requires careful and detailed planning, as well as integration of many specialists.