Lagos — Over a decade ago, Mr. and Mrs. Hosea Kupchi were very sad couple as they could not have a baby of their own. Due to the societal pressure, many ideas ran through their minds including adoption and IVF. But recently, the family celebrated the 13th birthday of their daughter Hannatu, who is the product of Nigeria's first test tube baby. The couple told their life story to Senator Iroegbu
"Mama, leave my wife alone, leave her alone. It is God that gives babies at His own appointed time". "No, I need a grandchild," the mother insisted.
The surrounding compounds were awoken by sudden burst of noise from the Menkiti's home. The shouting bout has gone on for several hours without end and the neighbours were beginning to get worried. It is obvious Mama has come again with her usual demand for a grand child.
This ugly scenario reflects the amount of pressure and trauma childless couples undergo in Nigeria, where some have braved the reality with unending search for solution to the detriment of their financial, emotional, psychological and socio-cultural wellbeing. In recent times, some have embraced child adoption, but still many believed that there is no substitute to a biological child.
This is the situation Mrs. Patricia Kupchi, a lawyer found herself twelve years ago, until that void in her was filled with the arrival of baby Hannatu, the first successful In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) processed baby, or for better understanding, first test tube baby in Nigeria.
Born on February 11, 1998, to Mr. and Mrs. Hosea Kupchi after a conception through the IVF operation carried out by a team of surgeons headed by Dr. Ibrahim Wada, now the medical director of Garki Hospital, Abuja; Hannatu Hosanna Kupchi has come to represent a milestone in the quest to bring hope to thousands of childless couples who undergo tortuous pain in search for a solution.
Recounting her ordeal, Mrs. Kupchi, a lawyer said the pain of childlessness and the trauma the couples face in Nigeria is better imagined than experienced, adding that she was fortunate to have had a caring and loving husband who protected her from being harassed by relatives and society.
"However, the feeling of emptiness and lack of fulfilment at achieving one of the basic essences of marriage, the stigmatisation and pain cannot just be wished away. The dream of getting married and start having children is so passionate and hurts when that dream is delayed or the hope of its fulfilment begins to seem impossible," she said.
Not only has she brought joy and satisfaction to her parents after 13 years of painful expectation for a child, baby Hannatu is a symbol of breakthrough for Nigeria scientists and embodiment of better things to come for the country.
According to Dr. Wada, the first scientifically proven test-tube baby attests to the fact that scientific movement in the country has taken root. "Baby Hannatu is a symbol of hope for Nigerian scientists, and a testimony that we can stand where others can stand. She is a symbol to remind us that there are many families who are facing difficulties in accessing means to end their pains of childlessness.
I was happy to be used by the almighty God to witness baby Hannatu's claim to fame; her conception and growth, the joy that her parents has been blessed and that a gap in this couple's life have been filled," he remarked.
The long journey to IVF success started in 1978 when the first case was confirmed in the United States of America. In 1984, the Federal Government set up a channel of investigation to probe and ascertain the authenticity of any claim to breakthrough in this field of medicine. Though, there have been claims and counter claims since then, but baby Hannatu's case was the first time the Federal Government confirmed a successfully IVF processed baby after thorough probity.
In a chat with THISDAY, the IVF specialist said that his passion and dedication to ease the pains of childless couples took him to England in 1986-89 where he was tutored by renowned Professor Brian Lieberman of Manchester University after being trained as a gynaecologist at Jos Training Institute.
Back home, he encountered mounting challenges from the public, authorities, and particularly the medical community who are increasingly averse to further false claims. "I met a country that is not confident scientifically, a country that is skeptical about any claim of a major breakthrough in such field medicine. But I can confidently say that today we have over 1000 thousand successful IVF babies since 1998.
Similarly, there is a general lack of confidence on the whole IVF process owing largely to the wrong public perception that test tube babies would end up being abnormal children. Some have even said that it negates natural course of procreation and endangers the lives of the mother. "The major danger is at the inception; the risk of ovary hyper stimulation which rarely would endanger the life of the woman. I must say that it is not man (doctor) that produces, but God who creates.
"I want to remind us that the seed of man and woman was made by God; the eyes, ears and other parts of the body. They are the creation of God and not artificial concoction of man; we only aid the process of fertilisation. That is why this assisted child birth does not have any side effects. The drugs and stimulation helps eggs production and that is all, but the whole fertilisation process goes through the normal process in the mother's womb," he explained.
In a nutshell, the obstetrician who has held leading positions in hospitals home and abroad and has successfully conducted over 1000 IVF operations said Nigerians have nothing to fear as children conceived through this technologically assisted method are like all other children conceived through the natural process.
"Many people in the country still doubt its authenticity, mistaking it as a plastic arrangement, not at all, it is the work of God." He stressed that test tube babies were not different from any other babies except that the eggs are not fertilised directly in the mother's womb."
He said that he was concerned about millions of couples with child birth challenges who may end up without solution as a result of their limited resources and access to the drugs and technology. He called for a full involvement of the government and corporate bodies to salvage the situation.
"To be honest, if we look at the cost implication, it is for the privileged few because the drugs, chemicals, plastic and most of the materials used are imported. The price range is between N500, 000 to N1 million per attempt, and on average, one out of three IVF attempts are successful," he explained.
In order to reduce the cost, couples should come earlier and not delay because the cost varies according to age; the older the couple the costlier the process. Ideally, no couple should wait more than one year after marriage and for those over 38 years the maximum period should be six months", he advised.
Moved by the pain that childless couples face, especially those who do not have the money to opt for IVF, Mr. and Mrs. Kupchi set up Baby Hanatu Foundation, a charity organisation named after the wonder child. "The cost of the treatment for a circle is between N800, 000-N1 million, and if you go through it and it fails, the psychological impact is grave.
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"This is why we want to support these people and give them reason to rediscover life and be useful to themselves, God and others. So the government should assist by creating an awareness campaign on the IVF issues because it is not a crime to marry," Mrs. Kupchi said.
She said her family paid N150,000 12 years ago when Hannatu was being conceived but that approximately N1 million is needed now to do the IVF operation, and further appealed to government to start an intervention programme the way it is doing for people living with HIV, to help poor and childless couples out of their misery.
Speaking further, she said that contrary to views held in some quarters that test tube babies are not necessarily normal human beings, "Nigeria's first test tube baby, Hannatu Hosanna Kupchi, has clocked eleven years, and has continued to remain hale and hearty. Up till now, Baby Hannatu whom I fondly call Sweetheart has remained a normal child growing gracefully into her teens".
In addition, Wada said that government should assist by creating the enabling environment in order to create access to the drugs and make it available to those that needs them. "Constant power supply, stabilisation of currency to enable the purchase of drugs and medical facilities at cheaper rate, and establishment of government IVF Centres in at least each of the geopolitical zone to complement the17 existing centres in the country," he said.
He warned that there may be danger of quark doctors infiltrating the profession because of selfish interest. "My concern is that many people are coming into the practice because they feel there is money in it. They are not going into it because of passion and interest to ameliorate the pains people go through as a result of childlessness," he emphasised.
