A woman in India has become what is believed to be the world’s oldest mother, at age 74, after giving birth to twins.
Erramatti Mangayamma said she has waited almost 60 years to have children with her husband, 82-year-old Rajaro. The couple has been married for 57 years, and now have two children of their own after Erramatti had IVF treatment.
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The new mom gave birth to twin girls via cesarean at Ahalya Hospital, in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh on Thursday, September 5. Doctor Umasankar, from Ahalya Hospital, said:
As she is old, she cannot release eggs so we got eggs from a donor and collected sperm from her husband. Luckily, she conceived in the first cycle itself and she was found to be pregnant this January. It was smooth, as there were no health complications. Each baby is weighing approximately 2kgs and both the babies are healthy. I don’t think she will have any major health issues in the post-delivery period. However, she cannot breast-feed the babies. But no worries. We can feed the babies with milk obtained from the milk bank.1
Erramatti was taken to intensive care after the delivery for monitoring, although Dr. Umasankar said she is “safe and healthy.”
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Her husband Sitarama Rajarao said the couple is incredibly happy. When asked who would care for the children in case anything happened to the parents due to their advanced age, Rajarao said:
Nothing is in our hands. Whatever should happen will happen. It is all in the hands of God. It is due to the grace of God and doctors that I have now become a proud father of two baby girls. God has answered our prayers. This is the happiest time of my life.1
Just a day after the birth, Mangayamma’s husband suffered a stroke, and is currently being treated in hospital.
According to Mangayamma, having children was very important to the couple, as they felt stigmatized in their village for never having any before now. She said other people would call her “a childless lady,” adding:
We tried many times and saw numerous doctors, so this is the happiest time of my life.1
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The birth of the twin girls has raised questions over whether doctors should provide IVF treatment over a certain age, particularly in India where the practice is not strictly regulated.
Erramatti and Rajarao have been married since 1962, but have never been able to conceive a child. The pair had almost given up hoping of conceiving a child, but when a neighbor became pregnant using IVF at age 55, they consulted a doctor and decided to try it themselves.
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According to MailOnline, an increasing fertility market in India has seen around 2,000 unregulated clinics open over the past few years. Authorities are said to be considering an upper age limit for IVF treatment.
Mangayamma is believed to have become the world’s oldest mother. The previous oldest was another Indian woman, Dalijinder Kaur, who at 70 years old gave birth to a baby boy.
