The Taiwo sextuplets were born on May 11, 2017 at VCU Medical Center. The three boys and three girls are in good condition in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU.
The Taiwo sextuplets were born on May 11, 2017 at VCU Medical Center.
A Virginia based Nigerian couple who tried to conceive for almost two decades could have welcomed six children over the course of time, but instead, they were gifted with them all at once.
On May 11, Ajibola Taiwo gave birth to the first sextuplets ever to be delivered at the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Medical Center in Richmond, Virginia, the hospital said in a press release.
Taiwo, a native of Western Nigeria, had been trying to become a mother for more than 17 years, the hospital said.
(L to R) Adeboye and Ajibola Taiwo held two of their sextuplets on May 23, 2017. The couple practiced kangaroo care, also known as skin-to-skin. During kangaroo care, the baby is held against the bare chest of a parent. The act of placing the infant skin-to-skin with mom or dad has been shown to maintain skin temperature regulation of the newborn, increase initiation of successful breastfeeding, and ease the transition to life outside the womb.
The couple was “overjoyed” when they saw four heartbeats at their first ultrasound in November. In January, they learned that they were in fact having six children.
“I was excited,” said Taiwo’s husband, Adeboye Taiwo. “For the very first time we were expecting.”
Taiwo was 30 weeks and two days pregnant when she gave birth to three boys and three girls by cesarean section with the assistance of a 40-person labor and delivery team, according to the hospital.
The babies ranged in weight from 1 pound, 10 ounces, to 2 pounds, 15 ounces. They are all doing well and are currently at the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU neonatal intensive care unit.
Jamie Burton, RN, repositioned one of the sextuplets, comforting her with a crocheted octopus. The octopus’ soft tentacles comfort the baby and remind her of the mother’s umbilical cord inside the womb, helping to prevent the baby from pulling on her tubes and wires.
