Kiambu mother loses all 5 quintuplets days after miracle natural birth

Mercy Kanini went into labour on September 14 expecting to welcome four babies. She left the delivery room with five and within 48 hours, she would lose every one of them.

The mother from Juja, Kiambu County, delivered the quintuplets through natural birth, a rare medical feat that required no surgical intervention.

Prenatal scans had shown only four babies; the fifth arrived as a complete surprise during labour, stunning even the medical team attending her.

For a few fleeting hours, it was a story of wonder, four girls and a boy, born against the odds. Then it became a story of loss.

Born at just 25 weeks and with critically low birth weights, the newborns' bodies were too fragile for the world outside the womb.

Four of the five died within hours of birth. The lone survivor, a baby boy, was rushed to Kenyatta National Hospital for specialised neonatal care, and for two days, he became the family's last thread of hope.

That thread broke on the morning of September 16.

In a statement, KNH confirmed that its neonatal team comprising of neonatologists, nurses and allied health professionals had fought to keep the last baby alive, but the extreme prematurity proved insurmountable.

"Despite the dedicated efforts of our medical teams and the specialised care provided, all five newborns sadly passed away," the hospital said, extending condolences to Mercy and her husband, Evans Nyamhanga.

The hospital described the loss as one the hospital "deeply" felt alongside the family.

Mercy and Evans now face the unthinkable, burying all five children they had so briefly called their own.

Family, friends, hospital staff and well-wishers have rallied around the couple as they try to process a grief most parents will never have to imagine.

The tragedy has also raised uncomfortable questions. The babies were transferred to KNH from Thika Level Five Hospital shortly after birth.

The quintuplets' grandmother has since alleged that proper protocol was not followed during that transfer, claiming one of the infants was carried without adequate protection, wrapped only under a jacket.

It's a claim that, if substantiated, adds a painful new layer to an already devastating story.

For now, Kenya mourns alongside a family that went, in the space of two days, from a headline of medical wonder to one of profound loss.