A Mumbai woman has become a mother at 60 through in-vitro fertilisation.
Punji Patel delivered a healthy 3.9-kilo baby boy through in-vitro fertilisation, a rare feat at 60. "You're seldom blessed with the joy of becoming a mother at this age," she told the Times of India.
Punji and her husband Ranchod had been trying, without success, to have a baby for over 30 years. The couple, who're originally from Kutch, Gujarat, and have lived in Mumbai for the last 10 years, had also done the usual rounds of hospitals, temples and holy men, without success. Despite Punji's senior age, the Patels finally approached a fertility centre last year and decided to have a baby through IVF.
Dr Mehul Damani, who helped the Patels, said they first used hormone therapy to "reactivate" the patient's uterus. "In her case, pregnancy looked virtually impossible but she wanted to go ahead anyway. Therefore, we reactivated her uterus through hormone dosages and she started having her periods. Then we put her on IVF trial and an embryo was created using the sperm of her husband," the doctor told TOI.
"Though the baby is the most wonderful blessing for this parents, it is time to consider post-menopausal births. There are always worries about the upbringing of children who have old parents," Dr Damani added.
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