BY Daniel Bampoe
In what medical experts have described as a medical rarity, a 34-year-old woman based in Wa in Ghana’s Upper West Region has given birth to naturally conceived quadruplets, bringing her total number of children to 12.
The woman, Hawa Bashiru, originally from Niamey in Niger, is the second of three wives married to Bashiru Adamu, a migrant who relocated to Ghana some 18 years ago in search of a better life.
Hawa, who is of Zabaroma origin, has now delivered children in a remarkable sequence: three single births, one set of twins, one set of triplets, and now one set of quadruplets.
Her delivery history has been summarized by healthcare providers as “1-1-2-1-3-4,” underscoring the rare and naturally occurring pattern of increasing multiple births.
The latest delivery took place on the night of April 15, 2025, at the Wa Municipal Hospital.
Hawa was rushed to the maternity unit in labour at 33 weeks and underwent an Emergency Caesarean section.
The operation, led by Dr. Jonathan Suwere, involved a full team including a medical officer, midwife, nurse anesthetist, two scrub nurses, and blood bank personnel.
According to Dr. Suwere, the surgery was successful but not without complications.
“After the babies were delivered, the uterus became flabby, and she started bleeding heavily—torrentially, in fact,” he recounted. “We had to act quickly and performed a life-saving hysterectomy.”
The hospital’s blood bank provided two units of blood, which stabilized her condition.
After spending eight hours in recovery, she was transferred to the ward and later discharged in a stable condition.
The birth of the quadruplets—three boys and one girl named Adamu, Hassan, Hussein, and Hawa—marks the first such natural occurrence at the hospital since its establishment in 1954.
Dr. Suwere noted that the probability of naturally conceiving quadruplets is astronomically rare—approximately one in 512,000 pregnancies.
Despite the joy surrounding the birth, the family’s circumstances are dire.
The couple lives in a cramped, poorly ventilated single room with no electricity or access to potable water.
During a visit to their home, the newborns were being fanned with a plastic lid to ease the heat. Neighbours and visiting relatives had to fetch water from a distant pond to support the family’s needs.
Hawa, unemployed and overwhelmed, expressed mixed emotions.
“Giving birth to four babies is a blessing, but taking care of them without help is a heavy burden,” she said.
Her husband, Bashiru, works as a casual labourer and bicycle hawker.
He shared that he had attempted to begin constructing a home by purchasing a truckload of sand but was unable to proceed due to lack of funds.
The couple is appealing to the public for assistance in the form of food, baby supplies, clothes, and financial support.
Transportation to the hospital for postnatal check-ups is also a challenge, as they have to pay for motor-tricycle rides they can barely afford.
A Good Samaritan recently offered the family a free ride to the hospital in a Kia Sportage following the naming ceremony.
The ceremony itself was modest but emotional, attended by family members, neighbours, and well-wishers.
Prayers were said for the children’s future, but underlying the celebration was a sincere plea for help.
Bashiru Adamu, who has three wives, now fathers 19 children in total.
His first wife, Rama II, has four children, while the youngest wife, Asana II, has three.
Hawa, now the mother of 12, is the only wife to have delivered twins, triplets, and quadruplets in succession—an unmatched reproductive record in the family.
Medical staff at the Wa Municipal Hospital have called for public support, emphasizing that while the delivery was miraculous, the couple’s ability to provide for the quadruplets will require urgent and sustained assistance.
“We’ve done what we can medically,” said Dr. Suwere. “Now, it’s time for society to help this extraordinary family.”
