
A 70-year-old woman has given birth to twins following IVF treatment, according to a hospital in Uganda.
Safina Namukwaya gave birth to a boy and a girl through surgery at a hospital in Kampala.
Ms Namukwaya, who is one of the oldest women to give birth, told the media that it was a “miracle”.
The hospital congratulated her, saying it was more than a “medical achievement; it is about the strength and resilience of the human spirit”.
“We have achieved amazing success – delivering twins to the oldest mother in Africa aged 70!” The International Hospital Center for Women and Obstetrics said.
It said she had given birth just after midday on Wednesday, and said both mother and children were safe.
Namukwaya said her pregnancy has been difficult because her man abandoned her when he found out she was going to give birth to twins.
“Men don’t like to be told that you are carrying more than one child, since I was admitted here my husband has never visited.” she said.
This is the second time for Mrs. Namukwaya to give birth in three years. She gave birth to a baby girl in 2020.
She said she wanted to have children after being ridiculed for being childless.
“I took care of people’s children and saw them leave me. I wondered who will take care of me when I get old,” she was quoted as saying.
It is not clear if she used a donor egg or her own which was frozen and stored when she was younger.
Women usually go through menopause between the ages of 45 and 55. Fertility decreases at this time but medical advances have made it possible for them to give birth.
In vitro fertilization (IVF) is one of several methods. During the process an egg is removed from the woman’s ovary and fertilized with sperm in the laboratory.
The fertilized egg, called an embryo, is then placed inside the woman’s womb to grow.