Fertilisation of eggs took place outside the womb

Anita Mathur was childless for the first 23 years of her married life. Now with an assisted reproductive method, the 51-year-old has delivered twins, her doctor said on Tuesday.



Anita was treated by a team of doctors at a private clinic in the Capital through the In Vitro Fertilisation (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 quite old and could not produce eggs. We managed to retrieve two eggs and IVF helped her conceive," said Manika Khanna, who conducted the procedure.

IVF involves fertilisation 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 women is said to increase as age advances. Decisions to conceive late and smoking are also attributed to infertility among females.