Although Mallam Ahmadu Didda is physically challenged, he and
Rukkaiya his wife had previously had four children who were all
‘normal’ children with no deformity whatsoever. But the couple’s attempt
at having their fifth child was a different story entirely, which
invariably brought them into the news.
The Fulani couple lives at Dunomari in Sakwa village in Zaki Local Government Area of Bauchi. About two weeks ago, January 13, 2012 to be precise, Rukaiyya, delivered a baby girl without arms and legs, which stunned the people of the sleepy village as the birth was a strange occurrence to them and many. The baby, named Fatima, apart from the fact that she is without arms and legs, looks healthy.
Fatima’s condition, according to medical experts is called phocomelia, a congenital birth defect in which the hands and feet are attached to abbreviated arms and legs. The bones of the arms, the experts say, may be extremely shortened and even absent and in some cases, while the fingers of the hands may be joined together.
According to Dr Obiora Kelvin of Reemee Medicare Nigeria Limited, Bauchi, an extreme case of phocomelia, like that of little Fatima, occurred when the upper bones of both the arms and legs are absent such that the hands and feet of the affected individual will appear attached directly to the body. This, he said, was called tetraphocomelia.
Dr Obiora told Sunday Tribune that many factors ranging from the use of certain drugs to exposure to radiation during pregnancy, especially during the second trimester, could be responsible for births like that of Fatima.
“Many things could cause phocomelia. It could be the use of certain drugs by the pregnant woman, lack of folic acid which helps in the neural tube and the central nervous system formation or even exposure to radiation, especially those who do x-ray without being shielded,” he said.
He also said that in the past, the use of a drug called Thalidomide, which was introduced in Germany in the 1960s could causes defect in some babies, adding, however, that the drug had since been withdrawn from circulation after it was discovered to have caused a lot of damages.
Researchers informed that by time Thalidomide was released in Germany in the 1960s, cases of severe phocomelia were reported with births figure of between 5,000 and 7,000 recorded. The statistic was given that “50 per cent of the mothers with deformed children had taken Thalidomide during the first trimester of pregnancy.” Throughout Europe, Australia, and the United States, 10,000 cases were reported of infants with phocomelia.
The mother of the ‘deformed’ baby stated that she conceived the baby through the normal process as she had done previously, adding that she carried the pregnancy for the normal nine months without any unforeseen things happening to her. Having been pregnant four times before, it was easy for the women to know any unusual movement in her stomach.
According to her unlike other Fulani women, she used to sought medical assistance at the community maternity centre in her area whenever she noticed any abnormal movement in her womb when she was pregnant.
She, however, did not disclose whether she attended anti-natal clinic regularly before giving birth, but stated that she had a prolonged labour and did not go to the maternity centre to deliver Fatima as they did not have the money to pay. She delivered the baby at Sandigalua village in the local government area.
To Mallam Didda, the birth of little Fatima has brought joy to the family, saying that the baby “is a beautiful baby to behold and a special gift from Allah to this family.”
Despite the fact that Fatima arrived with some birth defects, the father nonetheless was full of praises to Allah for giving his family another baby, describing Fatima as a “special gift from Alalh”. To him, no matter the situation, one must always be grateful to Allah, adding that in his case he is eternally grateful to Allah in that there was no complication during and after the birth of Fatima and that both the baby and the mother are doing well now.
"This is a special gift from Allah and we are grateful to Him for giving us this beautiful baby," Mallam Didda said, adding that this was the first time he would be seeing such birth in his family. “My other children were born normal with no birth defects. Fatima’s case is different and that made her a special child to us.”
Asked how ease he thinks it would be to care of the baby, considering her peculiar situation, the proud father emphatically declared that taking care of Fatima was not going to be any easy for the family, more so that they were not economically buoyant to care for her with her condition.
He, therefore, solicited the assistance and support of the Bauchi State government as well as kind-hearted individuals and groups to come to the aid of the peasant family with a view to taking good care of his “special gift from Allah”, saying that with the help of Allah and the support of individuals and groups Fatima would “live a normal and meaningful live to become useful to the society tomorrow”.
"Fatima is a gift from Allah but it won’t be easy for us to raise her on our own, considering the fact that with her condition, without legs and hands, she needs special care and attention. We feel sorry for her but with the assistance from government and kind-hearted individuals I know that she will live a good life.”
Speaking in the same vein, the leader of People with Disability at Sakwa, Abdullahi Gindi, called on the government and the society to assist the couple in taking care of the baby girl, saying that Fatima needs special care and attention.
Gindi, who is a blind person, also appealed to the society not to discriminate against the baby as a result of her condition, declaring that the society has a lot to do towards the “special baby”.
“The couple needs everybody’s assistance. In fact, the baby needs to be assisted. We are grateful that she was born a healthy child; she sucks normally like any other baby does. But we need to protect and provide for her. Her parents are poor, that is why we are calling for assistance so that Fatima would live a meaningful life,” Gindi said.
To Dr Obiora, if Rukkaiya had been attending anti-natal clinic before she delivered the baby, the possibility was there that doctors could have detected the condition of the baby she was carrying and could have probably prevented the birth of such baby.
When asked what is the chance of Fatima’s survival, Dr Obiora noted that up till now, some of the children born in Germany in the 1960s with phocomelia were still living and become great people in the society and added that for Fatima to live a meaningful life, it was the duty of all to assist the family in taking good care of the baby.
“There is no doubt that it is not going to be an easy task taking care of the baby. People must rally assist the parents in one way or the other so that they will be able to take good care of the baby. She has the chance to survive and live a good life. But then, we must all come to her aid by assisting the parents,” Dr Obiora submitted.
The Fulani couple lives at Dunomari in Sakwa village in Zaki Local Government Area of Bauchi. About two weeks ago, January 13, 2012 to be precise, Rukaiyya, delivered a baby girl without arms and legs, which stunned the people of the sleepy village as the birth was a strange occurrence to them and many. The baby, named Fatima, apart from the fact that she is without arms and legs, looks healthy.
Fatima’s condition, according to medical experts is called phocomelia, a congenital birth defect in which the hands and feet are attached to abbreviated arms and legs. The bones of the arms, the experts say, may be extremely shortened and even absent and in some cases, while the fingers of the hands may be joined together.
According to Dr Obiora Kelvin of Reemee Medicare Nigeria Limited, Bauchi, an extreme case of phocomelia, like that of little Fatima, occurred when the upper bones of both the arms and legs are absent such that the hands and feet of the affected individual will appear attached directly to the body. This, he said, was called tetraphocomelia.
Dr Obiora told Sunday Tribune that many factors ranging from the use of certain drugs to exposure to radiation during pregnancy, especially during the second trimester, could be responsible for births like that of Fatima.
“Many things could cause phocomelia. It could be the use of certain drugs by the pregnant woman, lack of folic acid which helps in the neural tube and the central nervous system formation or even exposure to radiation, especially those who do x-ray without being shielded,” he said.
He also said that in the past, the use of a drug called Thalidomide, which was introduced in Germany in the 1960s could causes defect in some babies, adding, however, that the drug had since been withdrawn from circulation after it was discovered to have caused a lot of damages.
Researchers informed that by time Thalidomide was released in Germany in the 1960s, cases of severe phocomelia were reported with births figure of between 5,000 and 7,000 recorded. The statistic was given that “50 per cent of the mothers with deformed children had taken Thalidomide during the first trimester of pregnancy.” Throughout Europe, Australia, and the United States, 10,000 cases were reported of infants with phocomelia.
The mother of the ‘deformed’ baby stated that she conceived the baby through the normal process as she had done previously, adding that she carried the pregnancy for the normal nine months without any unforeseen things happening to her. Having been pregnant four times before, it was easy for the women to know any unusual movement in her stomach.
According to her unlike other Fulani women, she used to sought medical assistance at the community maternity centre in her area whenever she noticed any abnormal movement in her womb when she was pregnant.
She, however, did not disclose whether she attended anti-natal clinic regularly before giving birth, but stated that she had a prolonged labour and did not go to the maternity centre to deliver Fatima as they did not have the money to pay. She delivered the baby at Sandigalua village in the local government area.
To Mallam Didda, the birth of little Fatima has brought joy to the family, saying that the baby “is a beautiful baby to behold and a special gift from Allah to this family.”
Despite the fact that Fatima arrived with some birth defects, the father nonetheless was full of praises to Allah for giving his family another baby, describing Fatima as a “special gift from Alalh”. To him, no matter the situation, one must always be grateful to Allah, adding that in his case he is eternally grateful to Allah in that there was no complication during and after the birth of Fatima and that both the baby and the mother are doing well now.
"This is a special gift from Allah and we are grateful to Him for giving us this beautiful baby," Mallam Didda said, adding that this was the first time he would be seeing such birth in his family. “My other children were born normal with no birth defects. Fatima’s case is different and that made her a special child to us.”
Asked how ease he thinks it would be to care of the baby, considering her peculiar situation, the proud father emphatically declared that taking care of Fatima was not going to be any easy for the family, more so that they were not economically buoyant to care for her with her condition.
He, therefore, solicited the assistance and support of the Bauchi State government as well as kind-hearted individuals and groups to come to the aid of the peasant family with a view to taking good care of his “special gift from Allah”, saying that with the help of Allah and the support of individuals and groups Fatima would “live a normal and meaningful live to become useful to the society tomorrow”.
"Fatima is a gift from Allah but it won’t be easy for us to raise her on our own, considering the fact that with her condition, without legs and hands, she needs special care and attention. We feel sorry for her but with the assistance from government and kind-hearted individuals I know that she will live a good life.”
Speaking in the same vein, the leader of People with Disability at Sakwa, Abdullahi Gindi, called on the government and the society to assist the couple in taking care of the baby girl, saying that Fatima needs special care and attention.
Gindi, who is a blind person, also appealed to the society not to discriminate against the baby as a result of her condition, declaring that the society has a lot to do towards the “special baby”.
“The couple needs everybody’s assistance. In fact, the baby needs to be assisted. We are grateful that she was born a healthy child; she sucks normally like any other baby does. But we need to protect and provide for her. Her parents are poor, that is why we are calling for assistance so that Fatima would live a meaningful life,” Gindi said.
To Dr Obiora, if Rukkaiya had been attending anti-natal clinic before she delivered the baby, the possibility was there that doctors could have detected the condition of the baby she was carrying and could have probably prevented the birth of such baby.
When asked what is the chance of Fatima’s survival, Dr Obiora noted that up till now, some of the children born in Germany in the 1960s with phocomelia were still living and become great people in the society and added that for Fatima to live a meaningful life, it was the duty of all to assist the family in taking good care of the baby.
“There is no doubt that it is not going to be an easy task taking care of the baby. People must rally assist the parents in one way or the other so that they will be able to take good care of the baby. She has the chance to survive and live a good life. But then, we must all come to her aid by assisting the parents,” Dr Obiora submitted.
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