Father Cies Out Over Baby Born With Exposed Intestine

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A 32-year-old man, Mr. Kingsley Igbenije, has cried out over the neglect of his newly born baby by members of staff of some government-owned hospitals in Lagos.

The Delta State native, who expressed frustration at the situation during a chat with our correspondent on Friday, said that since the premature delivery of the baby on Monday, he had endured several sleepless nights in an attempt to keep the infant alive.

He said that apart from developing complications leading to the exposure of the intestine shortly after being delivered at the Ifako General Hospital, the baby had been placed on oxygen and kept inside an incubator ever since.


Known as Gastroschisis in medical parlance, the condition is a birth defect in which an infant’s intestines are outside of the body because of a hole in the abdominal wall.

According to him, efforts to have a surgery performed on the child by doctors at Lagos University Teaching Hospital, and the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital respectively, had been unsuccessful as a result of the lack of functional incubator at both facilities.

Igbenije, who disclosed that he had spent more than N80, 000 since Monday to keep the infant and his wife alive, is calling on the government and all well-meaning Nigerians to come to his aid.

He said, “My wife was rushed to Ifako General Hospital on Monday after falling into premature labour. We soon realised that the baby had a swelling on the stomach. The swelling later burst open, exposing the intestine of the child since that time.

“The hospital referred us to LUTH and LASUTH for further attention but on getting there we were told that there was no functional incubator to put the baby inside even though they had the facility to carry out the surgery. We have gone back there several times but they keep telling us the same thing while the child is in a precarious situation.

“I have spent all my entire savings since Monday buying one thing or another to keep my wife and the baby alive. I lost my job last year and since that period, it has not been easy taking care of my family.

“I am calling on the Lagos State Government and all well-meaning Nigerians to come to our rescue and save the life of this child. She is our only child and hope for tomorrow, please help us.”

Punch