66-year-old Madam Ajibola Otubunsin recently became the oldest African to give birth through the In-vitro Fertilization (IVF). She was delivered of a baby boy at the Atoke Medical Centre, Abeokuta on Saturday, October 20, 2018 after 40 years of marriage.
Madam Ajibola who got married at the age of 25 in December 1977 did not imagine she would have to wait this long for a child but after a series of illnesses and treatments in India and Nigeria, she gave up hope. In an interview with Punch Newspaper, Madam Ajibola recounts her ordeal and how God finally blessed her with a bundle of joy after all hope was lost:
“I expected to bear children and be fulfilled, but then, I started noticing I was unusually becoming sick, I was having some health issues. I initially thought they were small problems but when I went to a hospital at Kainji, I was referred to an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, who told me I was still young and that I was getting sick because I was worried too much about having a baby.
“But I knew there were problems with me. I knew I had a problem with my thyroid. But the doctor insisted I would get over it. I went back to the hospital and this time round, I was referred to the Eko Hospital in Lagos, and there, they noticed I was suffering from hepatomegaly (an enlargement of the liver). They identified five other health problems and from there, I started battling with various diseases”
She however met a surgeon in the University College Hospital, Ibadan who developed an interest in her case:
“The surgeon was nice to me, he said he would send me to India. So I travelled to India. At the hospital where I was referred to, they noticed it was a cystic lesion (a medical condition that causes the development of multiple small, benign cysts on an organ in the body) and that I wasn’t responding to drugs. The cystic lesion overtook my liver.
“I was also tested for having sessile polyps in my colons (a colon polyp is a small clump of cells that forms on the lining of the colon and can develop into colon cancer).
“However, the doctor at the Indian hospital said he would try an artificial insemination since I didn’t have a serious infertility problem. (Artificial insemination is a deliberate introduction of sperm into a female’s cervix or uterine cavity for the purpose of achieving a pregnancy through in vitro fertilisation).”
She said, “Thankfully, I got better after a series of treatment in India and eventually I returned home. Knowing it was only the infertility issue I had to deal with, I intensified efforts again with the support of my loving husband.
“I had been visiting St Ives Specialist Hospital, Lagos for 10 years before I travelled to India but I stopped going due to my poor health. But when my health improved, I went back again early this year with my husband, and I met Dr. Tunde Okewale, who understood our plight and encouraged us not to be shaken by previous experiences. We tried the IVF procedure and here we are today, with our first child!”
It was on February 22, 2018, I discovered it, but I still had some health issues. I was still seeing blood, so I didn’t believe it. I went for a scan and the doctor asked whether I was doing any stressful work. He asked me, ‘Do you want to lose this pregnancy?’ I asked, ‘Which pregnancy?’
“He then showed me the monitor and I noticed some activities in my womb. I said, ‘Wow, this might be my time!’ I breathed a sigh of relief on that day. My joy became fully made.
“Meanwhile, I still told my husband not to think too much of it, maybe the doctor didn’t want to make us sad, that’s why he said I was pregnant. But my husband encouraged me. He had always stood by me.”
She also told of the pressure and namecalling she had been subjected to by members of her husband’s family. Describing her husband as very patient and supportive, Ajibola said all those mockers have been calling to rejoice with her.
She said, “Yes o! Those who gave me negative names then have been calling to congratulate me since I gave birth. I have been shedding tears of joy.
“I think it’s better when people are negative because it’s an opportunity to draw you closer to God. But when you are angry in your heart and you keep malice, it makes the results of your expectations to never come.”
Advising women who are waiting for such miracle, Madam Ajibola said, “So my message to women in similar circumstances is that they should hold on. They shouldn’t go about visiting herbalists and taking concoctions because they want to have a baby.
“That was a decision I took right from time. There were suggestions that I should visit herbalists, but I didn’t give in. You don’t know what concoctions you would take and would spoil your womb. The best thing is to be patient until one’s time”.
