Treatment helps woman deliver twins at 51

NEW DELHI - A woman who remained childless for 23 years after marriage has delivered twins through an assisted reproductive method at the age of 51, her doctor said Tuesday.

The woman, Anita Mathur, was treated by a team of doctors in a private clinic in the capital through the In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) technique. She had a normal delivery some months back.

“Anita had not been able to conceive even after 23 years of her marriage. She was old enough and could not produce eggs. We managed to retrieve two eggs and IVF helped her conceive,” Manika Khanna, who conducted the procedure, told IANS.

IVF involves fertilization of eggs and sperm outside the woman’s womb.

“The success of IVF is less when the woman is above 42 years of age. Hormonal profiling was complicated in Anita’s case,” added Khanna.

Anita had failed two IVF cycles before she could finally conceive.

The infertility rate in woman is said to increase as the age increases. Decisions to conceive late and smoking are also attributed to infertility among women.