Image: Twitter
There are a lot of things you can be when you’re seventy, but a new mom is far from a possibility, right? Well, this seventy-year-old woman is here to prove us all wrong! Jivunben Rabari, a woman, aged seventy, from Kutch in Gujarat, and her husband, a seventy-year-old Valjibhai Rabari, welcomed Lalo — their first baby boy! It’s safe to say that Jivunben is possibly the oldest woman in the world to have given birth!
Jivunben and Valjibhai have been trying to have a child for decades; they’ve been married for close to forty-five years. All those years of trying to conceive proved to be unsuccessful until now. Through In-Vitro Fertilization, the couple finally realized their dreams last month and had their baby via cesarean section.
We can agree that this was not an unconventional birth. Considering her age, extra precaution was required to be taken to prevent any unforeseen complications. The couple had approached doctor Naresh Bhanushali, the top doctor at Harsh IVF Centre, a hospital in Bhuj. During the eighth month of her pregnancy, Jivunben’s blood pressure started to spike, so they had to conduct a cesarean section to prevent any further complications. During the operation, they ensured that a physician and cardiologist were present. Luckily though, the operation was a success, the mother was fine, and they welcomed a healthy baby boy!
Image: Twitter
There’s no denying that the doctors did their best to make sure that the mother and baby were in the pink of health, but when Jivunben first came to them and said she wanted to have a baby, the doctors were far from pleased. They tried to convince her — in fact; they counseled her for three months to make her change her mind. The woman’s safety was a priority, and because of her age, it was the duty of the doctors to convince her to take a path that wouldn’t put her at risk. This happened over a year and a half ago, and after three months of persuasion, the doctors finally gave in!
The entire procedure wasn’t an easy one, as her uterus, the doctor said, had shrunk because she was well into menopause. The doctors first put her on specific medication to help revive her menstrual cycle and address this problem. After that, surgery was performed to maximize the size of her uterus so that they could artificially inseminate her.
The doctors were as thrilled as Jivunben when they realized that she was able to conceive in the first attempt! This wasn’t just the hard work of all the doctors — it required resilience and a positive attitude from the expectant mother as well. And resilient she was, given that she and her husband traveled close to a hundred and fifty kilometers twice a month for her pregnancy check-up and follow-ups! Also, it’s worth noting that they didn’t have any particular luxurious mode of transportation: they traveled in a state-run bus.
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Although the birth of a child is a joyous occasion, a lot of people had their reservations about Jivunben’s pregnancy. There are a lot of complications associated with late pregnancies, some of which include high blood pressure, infections, gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, miscarriage, stillbirth, anxiety, depression, low birth weight, and preterm birth (1). These factors had to be taken into consideration by the doctors before going ahead with the In-Vitro Fertilization procedures.
Also, it is an obvious fact that such a late pregnancy can mean that the parents could die of old age, long before they saw their child into adulthood: who takes care of the child then? And what about the emotional support that the child would need from their parents? All these are factors one must consider, and it only makes sense to address these topics. A few people questioned the doctors about their hand in agreeing to perform the In-Vitro Fertilization.
Still, the doctors at Harsh IVF Centre said that they did their part in educating the woman about the dangers associated with the step, as well as signing her up for counseling sessions. Beyond this, it was Jivunben’s choice. The doctors also stated that it was her desire to have a child before she died, and there was only so much they could do to convince her. However, they took full charge of what they could control: her safety as well as the safety of the child.
As of now, the only record we have for the oldest woman to give birth is of Maria del Carmen Bousada Lara. She gave birth to twin boys via cesarean section when she was exactly sixty-six years and three hundred and fifty-eight days old! Jivunben will have to seek an official entry into the Guinness World Record in order to position herself as the oldest woman in the world to give birth to a child. A few verifications will have to be done concerning her age, after which she can officially claim the title!
For now, we wish that the mother and child are hale and hearty, and we can’t wait to hear more about their story! We can agree that their story is one of a kind, and it’s not every day that we come across something such as this! What are your thoughts on this? Share them with us in the comments section below!
