In a remarkable medical achievement, 70-year-old Safina Namukwaya from Uganda has become one of the world’s oldest new mothers after giving birth to twins. The twins, a boy and a girl, were born prematurely at 31 weeks via caesarean section in Kampala, Uganda. Arthur Matsiko, a spokesman for the Women’s Hospital International Facility Center, where Namukwaya underwent in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment, confirmed the birth.
Namukwaya, who had previously given birth to a girl at the same facility in 2020 following IVF treatment, has brought attention to the advances in fertility treatment that are enabling older women to conceive and give birth. “She’s healthy. She’s talking. She’s walking around if they tell her to walk around the hospital,” said Matsiko about Namukwaya’s condition following the delivery.
Safina Namukwaya – Africa’s Oldest Mother, before and after delivery | Facebook
Doctor Edward Tamale Sali, who supervised Namukwaya’s pregnancy and delivery, expressed his astonishment at this extraordinary achievement. “This is extraordinary achievement, delivering twins to Africa’s oldest mother at 70 years,” he said.
Namukwaya’s case is not unique in the world of advanced maternal age births. A 73-year-old woman in southern India was reported to have given birth to twin girls in 2019 after undergoing IVF care. Such cases are becoming more feasible thanks to breakthroughs in fertility research and treatment, expanding the possibilities for women desiring motherhood later in life​​.
The twins born to Namukwaya in Uganda have been placed in incubators and are reported to be stable. This birth marks a significant milestone, not only for the Ugandan woman and her family but also for medical science and the field of fertility treatments globally.
