A woman who is said to be 72 years old just gave birth to her first child, a healthy baby boy. She is even said to be breastfeeding and plans to continue doing so as long as possible. The mother, Daljinder Kaur, lives in northern India.
Like many Indian women over the age of 50, she does not have a birth certificate, so it's unclear exactly how old she is. She says she is 70, but the fertility clinic that helped her conceive her child puts her age at 72.
Believe it or not, she is not the oldest woman in modern history to give birth, but she's close. In 2008, another Indian woman, Rajo Devi Lohan, had a child reportedly at age 74.
Daljinder Kaur and her husband of nearly 50 years, 79-year-old Mohinder Singh Gill, are thrilled to be new parents. Their joy is not shared, however, by many doctors in India and elsewhere who think giving birth at her age is not only disgraceful, but unsafe.
"I feel blessed to be able to hold my own baby. I had lost hope of becoming a mother ever," Daljinder told AFP news, "I used to feel empty. There was so much loneliness."
She and her husband have great faith.
"How could I have become pregnant, at my age, if God hadn't destined this for me?" Daljinder asked. "God heard our prayers. My life feels complete now," she said.
They named their little boy, who was born April 19 by caesarean section, Arman, which is Hindi for "wish" or "desire." He was conceived through a process called in vitro fertilization (IVF) whereby a woman's egg and a man's sperm are combined in a laboratory, creating a human embryo, which is then implanted in the woman's uterus.
This was done at a fertility clinic in India that specializes in pregnancy for women over the age of 50. A donor egg was reportedly used, since Daljinder is said to have gone through menopause, a process by which a woman no longer produces eggs, 20 years ago.
However, the sperm was reportedly Gill's.
The couple tried twice before, unsuccessfully, to conceive using IVF but was determined to keep trying, because, according to Gill, "God would not want us to give up on him. Everything is in his hands."
"Everyone asked me to adopt a baby, but I never wanted to. I had faith in Almighty, and knew I will bear my child one day," The Times of India quoted Daljinder.
Gill admitted it was "embarassing" not having a child. In India, producing offspring is a matter of honor. In fact, it's not uncommon for husbands to abandon wives who cannot bear children. However, Gill said he never planned to do that to Daljinder.
Although she's overjoyed to finally be a mother, Daljiner says she's satisfied with just one child.
"I think I'd die if I try for another kid and wouldn't be able to enjoy my precious Arman," she said.
The couple plans to raise the child on their own, which raises obvious questions about the parents' and child's well-being.
"People say what will happen to the child once we die," Gill said. "But I have full faith in God. God is omnipotent and omnipresent, he will take care of everything."
His wife Diljinder echoed the sentiment.
"God has a plan for everything. Who would have thought I could have a baby at my age? It happened because God willed it. If we die, God will have a plan for taking care of our son," she said.
Dr. Anurag Bishnoi, the doctor overseeing the unusual IVF pregnancy, is being criticized by several other physicians as a "rogue doctor" and a "repeat offender" for his continued practice of IVF among older women.
"It perhaps makes a great headline, but we are living in the real world," Dr. Manisha Singh told The Times of India. "As a mother grows older, there are chances that she passes on comorbidity to the baby as well. We need to consider the welfare of the unborn child. A mother in her 70s can face cardiac and bone-related problems that can affect the baby."
That's just the start. A doctor's group in India is actually trying to make it illegal for women over the age of 50 to receive fertility treatments due to the health risks for mothers and their babies.
"We condemn this totally," said Dr. Hrishikesh Pai, who heads a federation of 31,000 Indian gynecologists. "With science, you can make a 90-year-old person pregnant, what's the big deal? The question is not about technicalities, it's about ethics. Our responsibility to the patient."
Speaking of Bishnoi, Pai said, "This man is an upstart, he doesn't represent us. He needs to be banned."
In response, Bishnoi said the decision to undergo fertility treatments should be left up to the patients.
"Reproduction is a fundamental right. The government cannot prevent that," he replied. "They want to prevent women over 50, but on what basis can they do this to their own people? They are not killing anyone, they are giving birth."
In America, it's not unusual for women to postpone motherhood until their 40s, even 50s. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report approximately 600 women in their 50s give birth each year. Singer Janet Jackson just had a baby at 50. Other celebrities who have become mothers later in life include Beverly D'Angelo at age 49, Geena Davis at age 48, Kelly Preston: 48, Halle Berry: 47, Susan Sarandon: 45, Gwen Stefani: 44, Mariah Carey: 42, Celine Dion: 42.
Fertility experts still advise women that their best chance of getting pregnant with a healthy child is to do so before age 35, preferably even age 30. Since many women think that's just too early for their lifestyle, many are choosing to freeze their eggs, which is now much more reliable than it was a decade ago.
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