A man is appealing for financial aid to feed his wife who gave birth to triplets but has not been able to produce enough breast milk.
Lemarpe Ronda, 30, a resident of Meto in Kajiado said his wife, Evelyn Simayo, 26, delivered triplets on March 21 at the Kajiado Referral Hospital.
“It is now over one month and my wife and the children are still at the same hospital because the infants are still underweight,” Ronda said.
The infants are two girls and a boy who now weigh 2.085 kg, 2.115 kg and 1.590 kg respectively. They were delivered via cesarean section.
Healthy newborn's weigh between 2.5 and 3.5 kg. If the weight slightly exceeds 3.5 kg it is considered normal but a child is said to have a low birth weight if the weight drops below 2.5 kg.
Ronda said his wife is losing weight by the day as she is allergic to ugali (maize meal) which is the only food served with cabbage at the health facility.
He said he goes out every day to beg for bone soup in butcheries within Kajiado town.
“To be able to buy her something else to eat, I walk out of the hospital every day to beg for money which I also use to buy formula milk for the infants,” Ronda said.
He said people on the streets of Kajiado town no longer empathize with him and he is now worried he may lose his wife and the triplets to hunger.
Ronda said he is jobless and has two other children at home.
"The situation is bad. We are suffering here because I have to wake up so early to look for drinking water for my wife before starting begging for money,” Ronda explained.
However, the county health director, Dr. Ezekiel Kapkoni, said on Thursday he is not aware of the case. He said no one has informed him of the matter.
“This is a serious matter that should have been brought to my attention. I have dispatched someone to the referral hospital to get me first-hand information on this case before I respond to you,” Kapkoni told the Star.
The hospital’s superintendent Dr. Odhiambo Opiyo, said the couple has not complained to his office about the alleged allergy for the mother or lack of supply of food supplements for the triplets.
“The hospital is providing NAN to the triplets and our nutritionist is working round the clock to ensure the children gain weight,” Opiyo said.
NAN is a premium starter infant formula that is specially designed to help ensure infants receive balanced, high quality nutrition.
The doctor said it is normal for the triplets to have low weight at birth but they will gain weight before they are discharged.
“Two of the triplets have crossed the 2 kg mark and they are ready to be discharged but we do not want the third child to be left alone,” Opiyo said.
He said the hospital's nutritionist is also working on a feeding program for the triplet's mother since she is unable to produce enough breast milk.
