After many years of struggling with infertility, a Mtubatuba couple’s family is now complete with the arrival of twins, both born en caul, or more commonly known as a veiled birth.
An en caul birth is when the baby and placenta, still intact, come out in an unruptured amniotic sac (caul), also referred to as a “veiled birth,” which is a very rare occurrence according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Nokuthokoza, 50, and her husband Bheki Mthethwa said they are delighted with their “lucky babies”.
The twins were born on Wednesday, Wandile was born first at 11:05 am, weighing 2.5 kg followed by her brother Wandiso at 11:08 am, weighing 1.63 kg at St Augustine's Hospital in Durban.
The couple’s doctor, Professor Jayanthilall Bagratee said he made the decision to deliver the babies by cesarean section because one was smaller than the other.
Bagratee said he used a technique during the cesarean section that made it easier to control the delivery of the baby intact within the sac.
He said the first baby came out head first, but the second was breech, which made it more difficult to deliver with the sac intact because the baby came out with its butt first.
“It’s like getting a beautiful present wrapped in this gel thing, and you can lift it up; it’s a wonderful experience,” he said.
Asked whether the delivery of twins en caul was rare, Bagratee said: “Yes, that's right; we can deliver one baby, but to deliver the second baby as well, within the amniotic sac, that will be very rare, and more so because the second baby was breech.”
He added that with pregnancies in patients with advanced maternal age, such as Nokuthokoza, there are risks involved, like diabetes and hypertension.
“Fortunately, Mrs Mthethwa sailed through pregnancy. She had no hypertension, no diabetes. She had perfect health during the pregnancy.”
The couple explained that they struggled with infertility for years and consulted with a GP, Dr Mahdevan Pillay in Mtubatuba, and he referred them to fertility doctor, Professor Bagratee in Durban.
They met with him in 2019, where he discovered what the problem was and helped them to fall pregnant with their first child, Bheki Junior, who was born in 2020 and is now four years old.
Nokuthokoza was 46 years old when she had her first child.
“I'm very proud of Prof. He was very helpful, and he treated us very well. The thing that I liked about him was that he always invites God when he is working with his patients. I like that. He knows what he is doing; it was not a mistake for him to be a professor,” she said.
She said they were happy and surprised when they discovered that they were going to have twins.
Both parents said they were happy that both babies were born with a “veil.”
According to Bheki, in their culture, a baby is considered the “luckiest one” to be born en caul.
“It's luck for the family and for the babies,” said Nokuthokoza.
Bagratee said that he has delivered many multiple pregnancies in his career, but this is the first time that he has delivered twins, both in the sac.
Nokuthokoza advised others who are struggling with fertility to have patience and to seek professional help.