Kenyan mother of quintuplets dies

A Kenyan woman who gave birth to quintuplets prematurely about a month ago has died.

Everline Namukhula had been told by some elders in her ethnic community to kill three of the five newborns as they were a “misfortune”, but she did not do so, reports Kenya’s privately owned Daily Nation newspaper.

The paper says the babies fed on breast milk expressed from their mother with spoons and cups since Ms Namukhula was unwilling to breastfeed them because culturally quintuplets are seen as a “bad omen”.

Two of Ms Namukhula’s babies died earlier while undergoing medical treatment at a hospital, says the Daily Nation.

The paper says the 28-year-old had complained of chest pains and a persistent headache on Saturday and doctors said she died on Sunday of plumonary embolism, which refers to a blood clot blocking a blood vessel in her lungs.

Ms Namukhula is survived by four other children and her husband.

Source: BBC