Grandmother Gives Birth to Twins in India
07th July 2008
Omkari Panwar, 70, has become the oldest mother in the world after giving birth to twins. The twins, a boy and a girl, were born a month premature and weighed just 2lb each, but are thought to be healthy.
Mrs Panwar, along with her husband Charan Singh Panwar, 77, conceived the babies through IVF treatment. The Panwars have two grown-up daughters, and five grandchildren, but decided to have the treatment to try and have a son, who would benefit from a dowry when he marries and would also able to work their land. Mr Panwar expressed his joy at the birth, particularly because they now had a son. He said: “At last we have a son and heir. We prayed to God, went to saints and visited religious places to pray for an heir. The treatment cost me a fortune but the birth of a son makes it all worthwhile. I can die a happy man and a proud father.”
Mr Panwar is a retired farmer, but he was so eager to produce a male heir that he sold his buffalos, mortgaged his land, took out a credit card loan and used all his savings to pay for the treatment. However, the gamble paid off and his wife became pregnant.
Mrs Panwar gave birth to the twins by Caesarean section at a hospital in Muzaffarnagar, which is seven hours drive from the Indian capital New Delhi. When she was told that she had become the world’s oldest mother, she shrugged off the title. She said: “If I am the world's oldest mother it means nothing to me. I just want to see my new babies and care for them while I am still able. My husband and I have an heir. That is all we ever wanted.”
Source:
BBC
Daily Mail
Daily Mirror