Pregnancy over the age of 50 has increasingly become possible over recent years due to advancement in 'assisted reproductive' medical techniques like In Vitro fertilization (IVF).
Can a lady at the age of 74 become a mother? Doctors in the Guntur town of Andhra Pradesh now have a definitive answer to that question after they performed a caesarean (C-section) surgery today on Erramatti Mangamma, a 74-year-old lady who gave birth to twin girls.
The piece of news comes across as particularly jolting because the oldest verified mother until now on record was Daljinder Kaur in Punjab's Amritsar who, in 2017, gave birth to a baby at the age of 72. Since the doctors managed to successfully deliver Erramatti's baby, she, at 74, has now become the world's oldest woman to give birth to a child.
As a matter of fact, pregnancy over the age of 50 has increasingly become possible over recent years due to advancement in 'assisted reproductive' medical techniques like In Vitro fertilization (IVF), intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), cryopreservation, or simply due to advanced fertility medications.
However, medical science says that the health risk posed to a woman due to pregnancy also increases proportionally with age, across the 40s. Natural fertility stops when a woman hits menopause and can no longer get pregnant, the average age for which varies anywhere between 43-51.
Techniques like IVF have since enabled women to get pregnant even after the natural menstrual cycle ends. History was made today after the surgery of Errmatti Mangamma.
1. Married in 1962
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74-year-old Erramatti Mangamma got married to Errmatti Raja Rao (now 80) on March 22, 1962. Belonging to Nelapartipadu village in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, Mangamma and Raja Rao wanted to have children but were not fortunate enough. They went to many doctors, hospitals to realise their dream of having a child but in vain.
2. Met Dr Umashankar in 2018
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In November last year (2018), they reached Ahalya Nursing Home in Guntur wherein Dr Shanakkayala Umashankar took up this challenging case.
"This lady has no history of ailments like BP, Sugar and the genetic line is very good. After a thorough examination involving cardiologists, pulmonologists, among other speciality doctors, we decided to go ahead. She attained menopause stage long back but through IVF (In Vitro Fertilisation) we got her periods back in just one month,'' disclosed Dr.Shanakkayala Umashankar to Zee Media.
3. Social stigma over not having children
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And why did Mangamma and her husband Raja Rao want to become parents at this advanced stage? "We faced a lot of social stigma in our village for not having a child. We could not bear the taunts since our marriage so we tried our best but now we hope God will bless us,'' said Raja Rao to Zee Media.
4. History in the making
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Perhaps, this is for the first time in India, a lady at the age of 74 is becoming a mom.
Her entire family was hoping for good news to bless them. The successful delivery has undoubtedly become a historic event.
