The miracle baby boy

The miracle baby boy born two weeks ago at Dar es Salaam Mission Mikocheni Hospital was yesterday handed over to the father and close family members, with a promise of free, five-year medical care.

The baby who miraculously grew to full term outside the mother’s womb and was safely delivered by a team of doctors through surgery has for the last two weeks been under the hospital’s care. The mother died from over bleeding after the operation.

The baby who weighed 2.6 kg at birth, lost 300 grammes in the first week, but by yesterday had recovered, weighing 2.8 kilos.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with The Guardian in the presence of the baby’s father Okolewa Amon and his relatives yesterday, the hospital’s Director General Dr Asser Mchomvu said the management saw the need to continue assisting the baby after discharging him.

He said the hospital would facilitate all his medical needs free, whenever needed.

He said the father’s sister-in law has volunteered to stay with the baby.

“We recently resolved to help the father in taking care of the child,” he explained, adding that it was always difficult especially when a child was too young to be cared for by the father.

“We will be following up on his health until he is five years old, carrying out medical checkups whenever needed, since the father cannot accommodate the expenses,” he said.

Dr Mchomvu said such an opportunity will enable the child to grow healthy.

Revisiting efforts made to save the late Elizabeth Amon, the doctor said it was difficult for her to survive after the operation because removing the placenta was a complicated and dangerous process, but it had to be done to save the child.

He explained that when the mother’s egg was fertilised, it didn’t descend directly into Elizabeth’s womb. It instead wound its way down the fallopian tube into the abdominal cavity where it implanted into the wall of her large bowels, where it grew to full term.

According to the doctors, most babies born in such circumstances are always malformed and very rarely survive, describing what happened as a miracle.

Dr Mchomvu said in the case of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, it was not possible to save both (mother and child), hence forcing the doctors to save the child.

Meanwhile Amon thanked the hospital management for their decision to freely provide medical check ups for the baby for a period of five years.

“My income is very low…I am grateful to the hospital because I was worried over how I would manage to take care of my child,” he noted.

Amon said that he has yet to decide on the child’s name, saying he will need some time to think over the matter.