Sunday Tribune

70-year-old gives birth to first child

A 75-YEAR-OLD man and a 70-yearold woman welcomed their first child in Rajasthan's Alwar this week after 54 years of marriage.

The doctors claimed it to be the only case in the state. However, with in vitro fertilisation (IVF) technology, many elderly couples in the country and the world have become parents even at the age of 70-80 years.

Gopichand, the proud father, is a former soldier of Nuhaniya village of Jhunjhunu, who was shot in the leg during the Bangladesh war.

Dr Pankaj Gupta said the child and the mother were doing fine. The baby weighed 3.5kg.

“There are only a few cases of children being born at this age across the country. This is probably the first case in Rajasthan,” he said.

An elated Gopichand said: “We are happy that we can take our family forward as I am the only son.”

About 18 months ago, Gopichand approached the fertility centre through his relative.

His wife, Chandravati Devi, conceived nine months ago in the third attempt through IVF. While there was happiness, there was also an element of fear also because of the mother’s age.

According to Gupta, a law came into effect from June this year that no IVF infertility centre will be able to provide treatment to people older than 50 years.

Chandravati Devi had conceived before the law came into force. |

HERALD

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2022-08-14T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-08-14T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://sundaytribune.pressreader.com/article/281754158103599

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