Professor Samuel Otubusi and his wife, Ajibola finally had their first child 40 years after being married. The couple held on to God’s promise of a child revealed to the husband in a dream after 35 years of marriage but was not fulfilled until five years later when the marriage clocked 40 years.
Last Saturday, October 20, Mrs. Otubisi gave birth to a bouncing baby boy at the age of 67. The husband is 72. Before then, the couple had sought medical assistance from within and outside the country without any positive result. The miracle baby was delivered at Atoke Medical Centre located at Ewang Estate Extension, Abeokuta the Ogun State capital under the expert hand of Dr. Taofeek Ogunfunmilayo, a Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist.
The doctor explained that the old belief that a woman cannot give birth after reaching menopause is no longer tenable, saying, “One can always get pregnant even after menopause nowadays. There were lots of challenges during the delivery process and one of the factors responsible was her age. She has other health problems she has been coping with even before pregnancy and all these put her at risk but we were able to cope with all those challenges. She did not deliver normally but through CS.
“My advice to other couples passing through similar situation is that they should not limit themselves. She recovered very well after her delivery, despite her advanced age and we discharged her five days after delivery. To deliver someone who is not up to her age through CS is not an easy task. When she got pregnant, we advised her to rest because going up and down would have been disastrous for her.”
Speaking on how much it cost the patient from the point of pregnancy to delivery, Ogunfunmilayo explained, “She was registered during the promo period so the cost was low, about N800, 000 compared to the normal fee of N1.5 million. As at the point of delivery, the baby weighed 2.5 kilogrammes.
“The government should pump money into the health sector because if there are IVF centres in each geopolitical zone, I am sure the cost will come down because what is working against it for now is the cost which many cannot afford.”
He disclosed that the new mother has started breast-feeding her baby; and her age didn’t limit her.
Professor Otubusi, a retired lecturer of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB) and his wife are staunch Christians. The husband is a member of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry while the wife is a member of the Mountain of Fire Ministry. All the church members that spoke were full of praises to God for giving them a “miracle baby.” Most of them said they never knew that she was pregnant until they heard of her delivery.
Dr. Babatunde Okewale (FRCOG), owner of St. Ives Hospital is the brain behind the laudable feat and first of its kind in Africa as he was the one that performed the IVF procedure that enabled the Otubusi’s get their bundle of joy. Professor Otunbusi and his wife who had been married for several decades have never had a child and had been to several places within the country and outside, seeking for help to no avail before landing at St. Ives where their heart desires were granted.
