Indian woman 'world's oldest mother' at 70
An Indian woman claiming to be about 70 has given birth to her first child, doctors said today.
It is impossible to verify whether Rajo Devi is the world’s oldest mother as she has no birth certificate or other official documents to record her age.
She had a baby girl by Caesarean section last month, said Dr Anurag Bishnoi of the National Fertility Centre in northern Haryana state.
The girl, conceived through in vitro fertilisation treatment, was born on November 28 and was in good condition, the doctor said.
“I’m happy. The baby is doing well,” the mother said.
Mrs Devi, who lives in a village north of New Delhi, says she is about 70 years old and her husband, a farmer, around 72.
She said the couple, after being childless during 55 years of marriage, received in vitro treatment at the fertility centre in April, after reading newspaper reports of a 58-year-old woman who last year delivered twins conceived through the procedure.
A growing number of couples have turned to fertility treatments in India, where there are relatively lax regulations for such procedures.
In 2006, Carmela Bousada of Spain became what was believed to be the oldest new mother when she delivered twin boys at age 66 .
Before that, Romanian citizen Adriana Iliescu gave birth to a baby girl in January 2005, also at 66. Bousada was 130 days older than Iliescu when she gave birth.
