Through a collaborative effort involving grassroots advocates, psychiatric professionals, and medical teams, a heavily pregnant woman living with a severe mental health condition on the streets of Jamestown has safely delivered a set of healthy twins – a baby boy and a baby girl, at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital (Ridge Hospital).
The mother, identified simply as Mary, was discovered in late July sleeping outdoors on concrete pavements – unkempt, severely ill, and in desperate need of urgent medical intervention.
Her rescue was initiated by a Good Samaritan named Dorcas, who spotted Mary’s deteriorating condition and promptly reached out to Madam Mary Amoah, a prominent disability rights advocate and founder of the Klicks Africa Foundation.
Recognising the gravity of the situation, the two women mobilised community members and support personnel. Due to Mary’s acute psychological distress and extreme agitation, it required four days of patient, persistent effort to safely secure and transport her to the Usherfort Polyclinic before transfering her to the Pantang Hospital for psychiatric evaluation and medical care.
A Critical Medical Battle
At Pantang Hospital, an ultrasound scan revealed that Mary was carrying twins – a boy and a girl. However, her physical state was dangerously precarious; her haemoglobin level had dropped to a critical low of 7, indicating severe anaemia.
Managing both her physical and psychological health presented monumental challenges. In her deeply distressed mental state, Mary was convinced that frogs were living inside her womb and repeatedly struck her abdomen in an attempt to force them out, putting her life and those of her unborn babies in grave danger.
Despite intensive psychiatric management and blood-building medications, her blood levels remained dangerously low.
When Mary refused a necessary blood transfusion due to her condition, doctors made the swift decision to transfer her to the Greater Accra Regional Hospital (Ridge Hospital), where a specialised multidisciplinary team was assembled.
Collaborative Care Saves Three Lives
At Ridge Hospital, a coordinated team comprising obstetricians, psychiatrists, anaesthetists, mental health nurses, midwives, paediatricians from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), and theatre staff worked seamlessly to stabilise her condition.
On Friday, July 31, 2026, the team successfully performed an emergency Caesarean section, safely bringing Mary’s twin boy and girl into the world.
Medical experts have lauded the operation as a shining example of “collaborative care,” demonstrating that when healthcare departments break down administrative silos and unite, even the most complex and high-risk cases can achieve successful outcomes.
An Urgent Appeal: A Safe Home for Mary and Her Twins
While the medical team successfully saved three lives, Mary’s long-term future remains deeply uncertain.
Investigations into her background revealed that she hails from the Cape Coast area, where her late mother also suffered from severe mental illness. Sadly, Mary has no immediate family able or willing to take responsibility for her or her newborn twins.
With discharge day approaching, Mrs. Amoah stresses that Mary and her newborn children cannot be allowed to return to the streets.
Mary requires ongoing psychiatric treatment, safe shelter, post-operative care, and essential newborn supplies to raise her twins in safety and dignity.
An urgent appeal is being made to philanthropic organisations, civil society, the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, and the general public to assist in securing long-term shelter and welfare support for Mary and her babies.
How to Support / Donate:
Financial contributions toward Mary’s shelter, medical care, and newborn supplies can be made directly via Mobile Money to the Klicks Africa Foundation and Madam Mary Amoah: 0558 63 24 75 (Klicks Africa Foundation) or 0244 98 89 77 (Mary Amoah).
SOURCE: DisabilityNewsGH.com
