In India, a 70-year-old woman gave birth to a healthy baby boy. A medical feat made possible thanks to in vitro fertilization.

This story is a miracle. An Indian woman has given birth to her first child at the age of 70, reports The Times of India. The happy event took place in India last month.

Jivunben Rabari and her 75-year-old husband Valjibhai Rabari have welcomed a baby boy, who goes by the sweet name of Lalo. The child was conceived through in vitro fertilization, thanks to doctors at the Harsh IVF center in Bhuj, in the Gujarat region, in the northwest of the country. The delivery was triggered at eight months of pregnancy, by cesarean section, because of too high blood pressure. Fortunately, everything went without a hitch at the hospital. The newborn showed the tip of his nose being in great shape.

“We had a team of doctors including a cardiologist and a physicist available just in case… It could have gone wrong because of her age, but she gave birth to a healthy baby,” gynecologist Naresh Bhanushali said. to the media.

A child wanted for 45 years

The mother, Jivunben Rabari, knew the risks she was running. A pregnancy at 70 could be dangerous for her health and that of the baby (miscarriage, malformation of the fetus). But her desire for motherhood was stronger than anything. Married for 45 years, the couple were trying unsuccessfully to have a child until they were told about IVF. They were so determined that they did not hesitate to travel more than 150 kilometers from their village to go to the clinic, twice a month.

To make it work, the doctors prescribed her several treatments including drugs that stimulated and stabilized her menstrual cycle. The patient also had to undergo an operation to enlarge the size of her uterus, which had shrunk with menopause, to accommodate the embryo. A real medical feat.

A pregnancy at 70, the new record?

Against all expectations, Jivunben Rabari did not break the world record. She is not the only one to have had a (very) late pregnancy. In 2019, another Indian woman gave birth at the age of 75 to a baby girl. For now, this is the new record for the latest pregnancy in the world.