A 70 year old woman, Safina Namukwaya has become one of the oldest mothers by giving birth to twins in Uganda with the help of IVF treatments. This news has taken the world by storm as it is not only a medical achievement but also a human miracle. Read ahead to find out more about the medical success and netizens’ reactions to it.
70 year old woman gives birth to twins in Uganda
Safina Namukwaya is a Ugandan who gave birth to a boy and a girl at the Women’s Hospital International and Fertility Centre (WHI&FC). When the media asked about her emotions about becoming one of the oldest mothers in the world she said that it felt like a miracle.
70-year-old woman gives birth to twins after years of barrenness, becomes oldest woman to give birth in Africa pic.twitter.com/SfKBfT108e
— Instablog9ja (@instablog9ja) November 30, 2023
However, her doctor, Edward Tamale Sali, and the hospital have said that this isn’t simply a miracle or a success in the medical field but rather the strength and resilience of the human spirit. They also shared that Namukwaya used a donor egg and her partner’s sperm for the in-vitro fertilization (IVF) procedure.
Her children were born pre-mature at 31 weeks and placed in incubators. Currently, both the children are in stable condition. However, her happiness came after a difficult and emotional pregnancy.
In one of the interviews, she shared that her partner abandoned her when he learned that she was going to give birth to twins. Namukwaya summed up her emotions by stating that “men don’t like to be told that you are carrying more than one child.”
IVF be doing wonders globally. 👀😳❤️ https://t.co/QVxwWOg9kq
— IG: @MPIREDIVINE 🤗❤️ (@mpiredivine) November 30, 2023
However, it was an important dream that she wished to fulfill in her lifetime. She shared that she had often been mocked for being childless. She took care of children and saw them growing up while wondering who would be with her when she grew older.
This was the reason she decided to have her first pregnancy in 2020 which resulted in the birth of her first daughter. Just a year before that a 73-year-old Indian woman gave birth to twins in Kutch, Gujarat with the help of IVF treatment.
Netizens react to Safina Namukwaya’s story
Netizens have given mixed reactions to this news. They believe that it is a great achievement of medical science to make procreation possible for older women, especially at a time when the global birth rate is decreasing due to inflation and other factors.
Who will take care of the kids? https://t.co/9fQYJhtFsh
— Coco🌬 (@Queenisha__) November 30, 2023
70 year old woman in Uganda has given birth to twins. Procreation never stops.
— Sudhir Byaruhanga (@Sudhirntv) November 30, 2023
I don't know if this sits right with me, but good on her!
Raising a child at 70+ is not going to be a walk in the park. I hope she has a supportive extended family and friends because she will definitely need them.
Imagine when she is 83, that's when the twins will be 13. https://t.co/tfQ6LKlxc6
— David Nyuol Vincent Mang’ok (@DavidNyuol) December 1, 2023
However, they also felt concerned about the mother and her children, who might have to part ways earlier than the average family. Not to mention, pregnancy is usually a physically, emotionally, and financially taxing procedure. Nevertheless, it is a big achievement for the medical science.
