Yamkela Molose, 23, from Philippi, gave birth to premature triplets, on Tuesday October 11, and she has been coming to Groote Schuur Hospital daily to feed the smallest of them, her son, Nkosi, who weighed 910 grams at birth and is still in an incubator in the pre-natal ward.
Her daughter, Onjengawe, weighed 1.3kg at birth and her other son, Akekho, was 1.6kg.
“The nurses were good and supportive for me whenever I needed their help at the hospital,” she said.
On Thursday November, 17, World Prematurity Day, Groote Schuur Hospital held a celebration where mothers of premature babies spoke about their experiences.
Naathima Morgan, 44, from Hazendal, said she had had high blood pressure and had given birth early to her 10-month-old son, Layaan, who had weighed 875g.
“I was told by my doctors that I would have to give birth early; it was scary as I was thinking what will I tell my 4-year-old son, Xavier, who was also born prematurely?
“I thank the nurses and doctors for checking in on me every day. They showed my son all the love and care he needed in the hospital.”
Lee-Anne Adams, from Crawford, said her 18-month-old daughter, Ayla, had weighed 650g at birth, and because of the pandemic, she and her husband, Robin, had had to break curfew to take milk to the hospital for little Ayla.
“I want to say thank you to the nurses and doctors who treated me like family when my husband could not visit me in the hospital due to the Covid-19 visiting hours restrictions,” she said.
Ms Adams, along with help from her husband, friends and extended family, raised money to donate 2000 nappies to the hospital.
Sister Melony Williams, the operational manager of the hospital’s pre-natal ward, said every day presented a new challenge for a premature baby. “When the babies are born, we need to put them in a incubator to help them with oxygen and we know the mothers will be emotional and we will be there to support them.”
Aghmat Mohamed, the head of nursing at Groote Schuur, said: “All the parents of premature children are exceptional as you have been through an experience and we salute you for that.”
