By Yinka Shokunbi
For 35-year-old Chioma Okoro, mother of seven-month-old Osinachi, the birth of her son in April was with high hopes.
She said: “I was actually hoping for a daughter since I already have two boys.”
Obaloluwa, Awwal and Osinachi
But when her delivery was over after a normal period of labour at the Ogudu Health Centre in Kosofe Local Government Area of Lagos State, she was not expecting what greeted her.
“I was shocked when I saw my son after delivery and asked the matron what was wrong with him? She told me it was not something to worry about that the doctor would explain. The Doctor later told me it was a problem from the womb; that was all.
“After two weeks, we were referred to the teaching hospital where he was registered and put on a waiting list for surgery, which we were told would be done anytime,” said Mrs. Okoro.
Perhaps If Okoro was shocked at seeing her third son born with a congenital deformity in the lips; 28-year-old Olufunmilayo Balogun’s experience could best be described as stunning.
Balogun is the mother of three-month-old Obaloluwa who was born with upper cleft lip.
“Although it was not the first time I was seeing such a deformity, I had seen pictures of children born with cleft lip palate in the newspapers and on television but I never thought for one day, it could happen to me.
“When my son, who happens to be my first, was born and I saw him, I was stunned for words; I cried because I was not expecting it and the doctors had to calm me down, telling me it has remedy.
“I did not feel too bad afterwards, because I know the problem has a solution. I was just concerned about what people around me would say on seeing the baby.
“Not many people have seen such a condition, not even my husband; he was seeing it for the first time in our baby and being very supportive himself, he had to search online for the condition and got more information which helped us to overcome the initial emotional stress and gave us hope for a good corrective surgery,” said Balogun.
Fatimah Niniola, 29, is mother to five-month-old Awwal Niniola, who is her third child. Sharing her experience with our correspondent, Fatimah said: “I was really sad and devastated when my son came forth with the deformity that I felt like running away immediately I set eyes on him.
“It was the first time I was seeing such a thing as no one has such deformity in my family or his father’s and the doctor at the private hospital where I was delivered at Ijegun, Isheri, asked if I took drugs that were not prescribed for me while the baby was growing; as far as I can recall, I never took any herbs or drugs that was not prescribed.”
These three mothers were just some of the 29 mothers whose babies were born with cleft lip and palate and had been very lucky to be selected to benefit from the free corrective surgery offered by the Health, Education, Work and Shelter (HEWS) Foundation, and sponsored by Shell Petroleum Development Company and holding at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH).
Welcoming beneficiaries to the hospital, Deputy Chief Medical Director, Dr. Victor Adekunle, urged the mothers to be strong for their babies, saying; “The corrective surgery to be carried out on the children would definitely put back the luxurious smiles you have all craved for since these children were born.”
Adekunle who represented the Chief Medical Director (CMD), Professor Wale Oke, said there are still scores of indigent Nigerians suffering and dying from several medical conditions partly due to their inability to procure medical treatment as a result of poverty, ignorance and inaccessibility to good and qualitative healthcare.
The CMD observed that cleft lip and palate conditions not only has cosmetic effects on their victims, “but also has multiple negative effects of diminishing self-esteem, stigmatisation, segregation, psychological trauma and in some cases, speech defects.
“However, the correction of these facial and nasal defects goes a long way to improve self-image, academic pursuits and social integration of these beneficiaries into their communities in addition to putting a smile on their faces.”
Also offering words of encouragement to the beneficiaries, Group General Manager, National Petroleum Investment Management Services, Engineer Jonathan Okehs, urged the families who are managing the children not to lose hope and called on others who are hiding such children to bring them out for corrective surgeries, which are available in the country.
President of HEWS Foundation, Pharmacist Remi Adeseun, commended the courage of the mothers who have brought out their children for the surgery and asked them to encourage others who are hiding their wards due to stigma to take solace in the fact that there is someone somewhere who can help relieve them of their trauma.
Cleft lip (cheiloschisis) and cleft palate (palatoschisis), which can also occur together as cleft lip and palate, are variations of a type of clefting congenital deformity caused by abnormal facial development during gestation.
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