After 46 years of marriage, a 70-year-old woman has given birth for the first time. She and her 76-year-old husband are now proud parents of a baby boy and they credit In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) for their bundle of joy.
Daljinder Kaur from India gave birth in April after receiving IVF treatments for two years at the National Fertility and Test Tube Baby Centre north of India. The clinic's embryologist, Anurag Bishnoi, has pegged the new mom to be at least 72 since she doesn't know her own birthday and has no birth certificate.
"She has said she is five to seven years younger than her husband, and his birth certificate shows he was born on 12/04/1937," said Anurag Bishnoi via The Guardian. Their baby boy, Arman, is considered healthy and weighed 4.4lb (2kg) upon birth.
IVF Treatments Failed Twice
Anurag Bishnoi revealed that Daljinder Kaur visited the clinic in 2013 after she saw an advertisement in the papers. When tests revealed that she was fit to conceive, the clinic proceeded to get to work and found donor eggs for Kaur. However, Daljinder Kaur's first and second attempts at getting pregnant through IVF failed and the doctors also learned why she cannot conceive naturally.
70 Year-Old Punjabi Woman Gives Birth To First Babyhttps://t.co/4qU6nx5DwV pic.twitter.com/lGUztcOZhN
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"Her fallopian tubes were blocked and no attempt was made to detect the cause when she was menstruating," said the doctors, per Hindustan Times. Daljinder Kaur admitted they didn't visit fertility doctors when they were younger due to the stigma that comes with being childless. They were also tied to a family feud and its litigation went on for years.
"After we got a little free a few years ago, we thought of trying for a baby," said Kaur's husband, Mohinder Singh Gill. Seeing the newspaper advertisement seemed to have come at the right time.
Clinic's Controversial IVF Treatment Track Record
Daljinder Kaur's case is not the first for the clinic, though. In 2006, the center also treated a 70-year-old woman who gave birth to a baby girl. It also helped a 66-year-old mom give birth to triplets.
These births have pushed some members of India's medical community to push for regulations for fertility treatments. They have branded Bishnoi as a dangerous doctor.Anurag Bishnoi defends that he's helping families and he observes procedures. "Our track record in handling IVF in older women has been fairly good, but not everyone is fit to conceive," Bishnoi said.
Meanwhile, the new mom doesn't believe she should have just adopted years ago. "I had faith in Almighty that I will have my own baby, and Waheguru answered my prayers," said Kaur via Telegraph.
