Woman, 70, ‘gives birth to twins after IVF treatment’: Hospital says Ugandan is oldest person to give birth in Africa

A 70-year-old Ugandan woman has given birth to twins after becoming pregnant through IVF treatment, the hospital where she was treated said.

Safina Namukwaya became the oldest woman to give birth in Africa after giving birth to a girl and a boy on Wednesday afternoon, the Women’s Hospital International and Fertility Center in Uganda’s capital Kampala said.

Doctors at the hospital said the mother and her two babies were doing well after the caesarean section.

“This story is not only about medical success, but also about the strength and resilience of the human spirit,” the hospital said.

Ms Namukwaya told broadcaster NTV that this was her second birth in three years, after giving birth to a baby girl named Sarah in 2020.

Medics said the mother and her two babies are doing well after the cesarean delivery

The mother said she experienced some complications and problems during her pregnancy, including the father of her children abandoning her.

“Men don’t like to hear about more than one child,” says Ms Namukwaya. “Even after I was admitted, my husband never showed up.”

Ms Namukwaya said she had miscarriages in the past, lost her husband in the 1990s and faced stigma in her community for not having children.

“Once a very young boy molested me and said my mother cursed me to die childless,” she said.

Ms Namukwaya revealed after the birth of her first child that she was condemned for failing to give birth despite 40 years of trying.

“Many people judged and insulted me because I was barren, but I decided to leave everything to God Almighty, who finally answered my prayers,” she said shortly after giving birth to her first daughter.

Although Ms Namukwaya’s case is rare, it is not the first time a woman has given birth at an older age.

In 2019, Erramatti Mangayamma from India gave birth to twins via IVF at the age of 74, becoming the oldest mother in the world.

Mangayamma from the state of Andhra Pradesh gave birth to two healthy daughters with her 57-year-old husband Sitarama Rajarao by her side.

In 2019, Erramatti Mangayamma (with her late husband Sitarama Rajarao) from India gave birth to twins via IVF at the age of 74, becoming the oldest mother in the world.

Mangayamma from the state of Andhra Pradesh gave birth to two healthy baby girls

The Ahalya IVF clinic in Guntur city reportedly paid for most of the procedure as medics knew it would be a historic feat.

Mangayamma has no other children and went through menopause 30 years ago. But her husband Rajarao died of a heart attack in 2020 at the age of 84.

The previous record holder for the world’s oldest mother was Bousada de Lara, who was 66 when she gave birth to twins Christian and Pau in December 2006.

De Lara admitted lying about her age to receive fertility treatment at a private clinic in Los Angeles, for which she reportedly paid £30,000.

The babies were born prematurely by caesarean section and weighed 1.6 kg each.

Omkari Panwar from the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh claimed to be the world’s oldest mother when she gave birth to twins in 2008. But her claim that she was 70 years old could not be proven.

Britain’s oldest mother is Elizabeth Adeney, from Lindgate in Suffolk, who gave birth to a son in May 2009, aged 66.

The NHS usually only offers the procedure to women under 43.

However, some private clinics offer IVF to women of this age and older.

When a woman reaches menopause, she can no longer conceive naturally.

However, IVF is still possible with eggs frozen earlier in the mother’s life or eggs from a donor.