Tears of joy as woman gives birth after 11-month pregnancy

Nkululeko Tfwala who claims to have been pregnant for 11 months with her baby. On the right is her husband Amos.

EZULWINI – A 45-year-old woman has surprised many in her neighbourhood by being pregnant for 11 months.
The normal duration for pregnancy is nine months.

Nkululeko Tfwala, employed by the Regional Education Office (REO) in Mbabane, delivered her baby girl last month after an 11-month pregnancy.

The baby was born on May 10, 2013 and Tfwala said much against her expectations, there were no complications during the delivery.
She became worried when she did not experience labour pains in the nine-month period as expected.
“I went to hospital but they told me that it wasn’t yet time. Doctors gave me some tablets and I returned home. I was feeling terrible. My feet were always sore and I had difficulty walking,” she said.

Tfwala said by the 10th month, she was heavily pregnant such that neighbours and relatives constantly paid her unexpected visits to find out what was going.
“Church members also paid me regular visits for sessions of prayer. But I wasn’t sick, save for fact that I had difficulty getting about. I could frequently feel the child kicking in my womb,” she said.

The kicks did not mean she was now due. It was only in the 11-month of her pregnancy that she eventually experienced labour pains.
“I went to hospital and delivered my baby without any major complications save for the bad treatment by nurses at the Mbabane Government Hospital. They made fun of me for giving birth at the age of 45,” she said.
She gave birth to a healthy baby girl who she has named Sethabile.

“After birth, I thought doctors would explain to me how I came to give birth after 11 months of pregnancy but they didn’t. I guess it means there was no need to be worried, contrary to the thinking of many people,” she said.
She has seven surviving children after one died. The family lives at Mvutshini, Ezulwini.
She gave birth to her first child in 1984 and she said she has never been pregnant for such a long time. Her husband Amos said he was worried about his wife and the child.

“We have other children but such has never happened. I was also very worried and thought of many things. I thought the child would be paralysed or die. I’m just glad that everything went well and both my wife and child are safe,” he said.
Upon birth, the child weighed 3.7kg, according to its mother.

The family is struggling to make ends meet as Amos is unemployed and his wife’s salary is not enough to sustain the family.
“But we will survive – we always do. We just thank God for this wonderful gift He has given us,” said Nkululeko.
Director of Health Services, Dr Simon Zwane said it was not normal for a person to be pregnant for 11 months.
“This is not normal and I don’t think this woman was pregnant for 11 months. Sometimes it happens that women miscalculate the months. Medically, a woman should give birth within 38 to 40 weeks of pregnancy. Once she gets pregnant for more than 42 weeks, doctors then know what to do,” he said.

He said doctors have a scientific method of making a woman undergo labour and deliver after 42 weeks of pregnancy.
“In this case, I think the woman miscalculated the months. I doubt if it is possible for someone to be pregnant for 11 months,” Dr Zwane said.

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