A woman in eastern Afghanistan recently gave birth to quadruplets, Pajhwok Afghan News reported Thursday.
“A mother has given birth to four babies in a local hospital in eastern Nangarhar province,” the news agency revealed on August 26, citing “hospital sources.”
Nangarhar province borders Kabul, Afghanistan’s national capital, to the east. Kabul’s Malalai Hospital told Afghanistan’s Tolo News on June 11 that “in the past week, nineteen babies — quadruplets, triplets, and twins” were born at the facility, “with most of the newborn babies and mothers in good health.”
The mothers of the quadruplets and triplets born at Malalai Hospital in June traveled to the medical center from remote villages in surrounding provinces “where pregnancy care centers are rare,” according to Tolo News.
The chief of Malalai Hospital’s neonatal department said roughly 100 babies are born at the hospital daily, with some “affected by inadequate prenatal care.”
A woman wearing a burqa holds her child as she waits to receive free wheat from the government emergency committee during a government-imposed lockdown on the capital city as a preventive measure against the coronavirus, in Kabul on April 21, 2020. (Wakil Kohsar/AFP via Getty Images)
Afghanistan has one of the world’s highest rates of infant and maternal mortality. According to the latest data provided by Afghanistan’s Ministry of Public Health, “661 mothers die per 100,000 births in Afghanistan.”
An infant mortality rate refers to the number of deaths of babies under the age of 1 year for every 1000 live births. Afghanistan’s infant mortality rate was 46.5 in 2019.
Babies born as part of a multiple birth litter, such as twins, triplets, and quadruplets, are at higher risk of health complications and infant mortality. Women who deliver multiple sets of babies in a single birth event likewise suffer from a higher risk of dying during delivery, as the birthing process often presents greater opportunities for health complications.
The babies born as part of multiple litters at Kabul’s Malalai Hospital in June were largely healthy, along with most of their mothers, a doctor identified only as “Sharifa” told Tolo News at the time.
“All the babies were in good condition, their weights were above 1.8 kilograms [3.96 pounds], which is normal,” the physician said.
“It’s been three days since I came to the hospital, I went into surgery but now me and my babies, we are in good health,” a mother who gave birth to twins told Tolo News.
Another woman who gave birth to twins at Malalai Hospital in June named Beheshta told the news agency she attempted to eat nutritious foods while pregnant to help support her babies’ prenatal care, which is notoriously low in war-torn Afghanistan.
“During my pregnancy, I ate meat, rice, and other healthy meals,” Beheshta said proudly.
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