70-year-old Uganda woman gives birth to twins, explains what inspired her to seek IVF treatment

(4 Dec 2023) FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 4466868 ASSOCIATED PRESS Kampala, Uganda - 04 December 2023 1. Various of twins resting in incubators HEADLINE: 70-year-old Uganda woman gives birth to twins with IVF 2. Close-up of one of Namukwaya’s twins 3. Mid of Safina Namukwaya sitting next to bed ANNOTATION: Safina Namukwaya has given birth to twins, a boy and a girl, at the age of 70 having received fertility treatment. 4. Various of Namukwaya with visitors ANNOTATION: The twins are not her first children. Namukwaya had a daughter at the same facility in 2020, again following IVF treatment. 5. SOUNDBITE (Luganda) Safina Namukwaya, 70-year-old new mother: “What inspired me to give birth at my advanced age is that I had failed to conceive during my younger years and I had no children of my own until I grew old. All the children I kept raising over the years, I had none, and when they grew up they left me alone, that is why I decided to look for my own children.” 6. Various of twins inside incubator 7. SOUNDBITE (English) Isaac Chebet, doctor at Women’s Hospital International & Fertility Centre: “We went ahead and assessed other organs, the liver, the kidneys and we noticed that she was okay. She didn’t have any issues with the back, so we noticed that she is able to carry the pregnancy.” 8. Wide of Namukwaya and a visitor sitting on hospital bed ANNOTATION: Namukwaya could not pay for the IVF treatment, so a hospital director offered it for free. 9. Close of canula 10. Close-up of Safina Namukwaya’s face 11. Various of twins inside incubator STORYLINE: A 70-year-old woman in Uganda has given birth to twins after receiving fertility treatment, making her one of the world’s oldest new mothers. Safina Namukwaya gave birth to a boy and a girl on Wednesday via cesarean section at a medical centre in the capital, Kampala. The Women’s Hospital International & Fertility Centre is also where Namykwaya received in vitro fertilization treatment. One of her doctors said that the success of the treatment showed that age was "just a number." Isaac Chebet explained that the new mum did have to use a donor egg, but that all tests had shown she was otherwise in good health. Namukwaya is not the oldest mum as a 73-year-old woman in southern India gave birth to twin girls following IVF treatment in 2019. But she is the oldest woman to deliver a baby at the hospital, whose founder is a prominent gynecologist in the east African region. Namukwaya could not afford the expensive fees herself, but the hospital director offered her free treatment. The twins are not the first children Namukwaya gave birth to - she had a daughter at the same facility in 2020, again following IVF treatment. Namukwaya's niece, who is named after her, is helping to look after the children amid reports that the new mum's partner is no longer living with her. The new mum admitted that her life hadn't been easy so far, but said she believed God would take care of her little family. Namukwaya explained the government had bought some of her land for development. She said she planned to use that to start up a small business to provide a living for herself and her children. =========================================================== Clients are reminded to adhere to all listed restrictions and to check the terms of their licence agreements. For further assistance, please contact the AP Archive on: Tel +44(0)2074827482 Email: [email protected]. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...