What was supposed to be a joyful marriage turned into years of pain, rejection and survival for a Kenyan woman after she repeatedly gave birth to premature babies.
Nelie Ochume has opened up about how the complications surrounding her pregnancies destroyed her marriage, pushed her into extreme hardship and eventually landed her in police custody with her newborn baby hidden inside her jacket.
Speaking in an emotional interview with Afrimax, Nelie shared how she battled abandonment, abuse and poverty while trying to keep her children alive.
Marriage begins to crumble
According to Nelie, the problems in her marriage started after she gave birth to her first child at just five months.
Sadly, the baby did not survive.
She said her husband initially appeared supportive, but things changed after the loss of the child.
Hoping for better news the second time around, Nelie became pregnant again. However, she delivered another premature baby at six months.
The baby reportedly weighed only one kilogram and had to spend three months in an incubator.
“My husband was surprised and asked what was happening,” she recalled.
Nelie said the medical bills and repeated complications began affecting her husband’s attitude towards her.
According to her, he questioned why she could not “be a normal woman” and even suggested she was cursed.
Another woman moves into the house
Things became even more painful when Nelie returned home from the hospital after caring for her second baby.
She claimed her husband and mother-in-law had already arranged for another woman to move into the house.
Woman recounts how giving birth to 3 premature babies landed her in jail
The woman reportedly came with her own child, while Nelie was forced to give up her matrimonial room and practically became a househelp in her own home.
With no parents and nowhere else to go, she said she endured the humiliation and abuse for the sake of her child.
According to her, both her husband and the new woman subjected her to physical and emotional abuse.
Interestingly, the other woman later left the marriage, prompting Nelie to reunite with her husband.
“Just because I was so young and innocent, I forgave my husband and we came back together,” she said.
But the reconciliation came with another disturbing conversation.
Nelie said her husband warned her never to give birth to another premature baby again, as though it was entirely within her control.
The third pregnancy brings more heartbreak
Nelie later became pregnant for the third time and desperately hoped things would finally change.
During the pregnancy, doctors diagnosed her with high blood pressure and diabetes. She followed strict medical advice, rested frequently and maintained special diets to protect the pregnancy.
Despite her efforts, she began experiencing severe cramps and bleeding just days before reaching six months.
According to her, when she informed her husband about her condition, he refused to help and instructed her to drive herself to the hospital.
Even her aide allegedly declined to assist her after being warned by Nelie’s own husband not to intervene.
It was eventually a watchman who helped her secure transport to the hospital.
Doctors informed her that she was once again about to deliver a premature baby.
“If you guys are taking out this baby again, you better kill me first,” she recalled telling the doctors.
The baby survived, but Nelie said the situation completely destroyed whatever remained of her marriage.
She alleged that after informing her husband about the birth, he denied knowing her and instructed her never to call him again.
According to her, he even suggested that the baby should be discarded because he wanted nothing to do with the child.
Woman recounts how giving birth to 3 premature babies landed her in jail
How Nelie Ochume ended up in jail
After undergoing a caesarean section, Nelie said she remained stranded at the hospital because she had no money to pay her bills or transport herself home.
Nobody visited her.
Out of compassion, a watchman reportedly gave her 250 Kenyan shillings to help her begin the journey home.
But what awaited her there would become one of the darkest moments of her life.
While stranded by the roadside, she spotted her husband driving past in his car. She begged a motor rider to help stop him, hoping he would assist her.
According to Nelie, her husband reluctantly stopped the vehicle only to tell her once again that he did not know her.
The motor rider eventually helped her get home.
However, upon arriving, she allegedly discovered that her husband had now taken her aide as another wife and was moving out of the house with their belongings.
Nelie said she tried speaking with him, but the confrontation quickly turned violent.
She claimed her husband threatened to kill both her and the baby and even attempted to throw the child from a storey building.
In an effort to save the baby, Nelie said she grabbed a nearby ladder and struck him.
During the struggle, her caesarean stitches reportedly reopened, and she began bleeding heavily.
Her husband then called the police and accused her of attacking him.
According to Nelie, officers arrived and arrested her without properly hearing her side of the story, while the baby remained hidden inside her jacket.
A female police officer comes to her rescue
Nelie said her situation changed after a female police officer heard unusual cries while she was in custody.
The officer reportedly discovered that the sound was coming from the hidden baby and immediately arranged for both mother and child to be taken to the hospital for treatment.
Woman recounts how giving birth to 3 premature babies landed her in jail
After spending three more days at the hospital, Nelie said her husband handed her 4,000 Kenyan shillings and instructed her to disappear with the children permanently.
Although the money was insufficient, she accepted it because she had no other option.
She later found a compassionate landlady who agreed to rent her a room at half the normal price so she could use the remaining money to feed herself and the children.
“We’re just surviving by God’s grace”
Life after the separation remained extremely difficult.
Nelie said she struggled to feed her children and sometimes asked her daughter to visit neighbours around mealtimes in the hope of receiving food.
She also admitted that the pressure became so overwhelming that she contemplated ending her life together with her children on several occasions, although someone always intervened.
According to her, her son now suffers from a medical condition linked to his premature birth and urgently needs another surgery.
The boy is reportedly mocked in school because he sometimes urinates or defecates on himself.
“We’re just surviving by God’s grace,” Nelie said.
Despite everything she endured, Nelie said doctors later explained that premature birth is a medical condition that can happen to any woman and should never become grounds for abuse or rejection.
She advised women to leave relationships immediately after noticing serious red flags instead of waiting for situations to worsen.
