A sales consultant from Pimville in Soweto has given birth to quadruplets - and will be bringing them up by herself

THE persistently ringing alarm attached to the incubator is a sign that baby Phelang needs his mother's attention.

New mother Matobole Mashupye, 33, obliges, running over to the crying baby's cubicle with a tiny pacifier in her right hand.

But nothing seems to work, judging by the little one's frequent bursts of shrill cries.

The tiny tot, who is barely bigger than a loaf of bread, is hooked to the oxygen supply after suffering an infection, but his doctor, Hetan Hari, says the infection is nothing major.

Premature babies like Phelang generally suffer such infections soon after birth.

Phelang and two-week-old siblings Nthateng, Onkgopotse and Molemo were born four weeks prematurely at Daxina Medical Clinic in Lenasia, Johannesburg, on May 11.

Though Mashupye's face lights up when she speaks about her bundles of joy, she told Sowetan that it was hard at first to accept the news.

"I found out I was carrying quadruplets during my second visit," she says.

"I was scared but I adjusted and told myself that this was a gift from God.

"It is a gift from God," she affirms one more time before saying how grateful she is that the pregnancy "went well".

But speaking to Mashupye about the father's reaction to the arrival of the quadruplets, one gets the sense that something is wrong.

"I thought the interview would be about me and my babies. Why do you ask about the father?

"Things are not good between us. We are not together anymore," she says.

She says because of the strained relations between herself and the children's father, she would have to raise them alone, though she does not earn enough to sustain herself and the babies, including a 12-year-old from a previous relationship.

This is because the babies' father, whose identity Mashupye refused to divulge, does not seem to be involved in the children's lives.

The sales consultant from Pimville in Soweto says she never thought about quitting her job to look after the babies but pleaded for help.

People wanting to make donations can call Daxina Clinic on 011-213-7000.