Original version

BBC World Service Europe and the Middle East

The Conversation

Factual: Life Stories

Two women from different parts of the world share the stories of their lives

Two women from different parts of the world, united by a common passion, experience or expertise, share the stories of their lives.

BBC World Service Online

BBC World Service West and Central Africa Schedule

BBC World Service West and Central Africa

BBC World Service

BBC World Service Australasia

BBC World Service schedule for American satellite radio and the Caribbean

BBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean

BBC World Service South Asia

BBC World Service East Asia

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa Schedule

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa

BBC World Service News Internet

The Conversation: Motherhood, multiplied

Magazines & Reviews

L: Lauren Perkins (credit: Lisa Holloway) and R: Inga Mafenuka (credit: Armand Hough African News Agency)

22/07/2019 GMT

Motherhood, multiplied

BBC World Service - The Conversation, Motherhood, multiplied

Two women discuss the challenges and rewards of raising multiple babies

Two women discuss the challenges and rewards of raising multiple babies.

Raising four or six babies at once - what's it like? Kim Chakanetsa brings together two women in very different situations who are experiencing motherhood in its most concentrated form.

In April 2012, Lauren Perkins gave birth to sextuplets in Texas, following fertility treatment. Her six children - Andrew, Benjamin, Caroline, Leah, Allison and Levi - are now seven years old. Lauren says the first year was a blur of feeding and laundry and now the family exist in a kind of controlled chaos. Her biggest challenge is balancing the needs of their daughter, Leah, who has severe disabilities, with those of the rest of the family.

Inga Mafenuka is a single mum to baby quadruplets, who were born in Cape Town, South Africa in July 2018. Inga was 22 when she became pregnant naturally, and she gave birth to the two boys, Bubele and Buchule and two girls, Bunono and Bungcwele. To support the family, Inga has taken on a part-time job in retail, and is also continuing her IT studies, which were broken off by the pregnancy, but they are struggling for space in their two-bedroom house in the township.

Sadly, following the broadcast of this programme, Inga Mafenuka’s baby son, Bubele, died on August 1st 2019.

Produced by Jo Impey for the BBC World Service

L: Lauren Perkins (credit: Lisa Holloway)
R: Inga Mafenuka (credit: Armand Hough African News Agency)

Accessibility links

Programme Index

The Conversation

Motherhood, multiplied

Genres

Formats

Brand

BBC World Service Europe and the Middle East

About BBC World Service