Indian woman has first child at age of 70

An Indian woman has become the world's oldest mother after giving birth to her first child at the age of 70. 

Rajo Devi and her husband had fertility treatment before she gave birth aged 70 

Rajo Devi, 70, who married 50 years ago gave birth to a baby girl on November 28 after receiving fertility treatment.

Her doctor Anurag Bishnoi, from the Hisar fertility centre in Haryana province 80 miles north of New Delhi, said both the mother and baby girl, who weighed a little over 3lbs, were in good health.

Adriana Iliescu a retired university lecturer and children's story writer from Romania was the world's previous oldest woman having given birth to a girl in 2006 at the age of 67, also through an IVF procedure.

"We longed for a child all these years sand now are very happy to have one in the twilight years of our life" said Devi who had become menopausal over two decades ago.

Father Bala Ram, 72, said: "The upbringing of the child will not pose any problems. We have a joint family as is common in Haryana."
According to reports from Devi's Alewa village in Jind district, the illiterate 20-year old married Ram, a farmer in 1954.

Ten years later after she failed to produce any children – widely considered a stigma in Haryana's family-orientated society – Ram wed Devi's younger sister hoping that she would produce him an heir.

Such marriages, though illegal and punishable under law, are not uncommon in rural India even today and enjoy a broad social acceptance in agrarian communities where women have little or no rights.

But that attempt too failed and the three lived childless for decades till they approached the nearby fertility centre for treatment in the year.

The embryo treatment was carried out in April but it was not clear whose egg and sperm was used in the successful treatment that raised the couple's social status in the village.

The doctors' main concern was that Devi would conceived twins and would not have been able to carry them for the entire length of her pregnancy.

To avoid such a complication, the doctors resorted to blastocyst culture where a single embryo is transferred to the uterus instead of two or three.

"We all prayed that she gets a child and even married our other sister to Bala Ram in this hope, but it did not work" Rajo's brother Chand Ram said.

"The whole family is now very happy she has a child," he declared.
Dr Bishnoi said adding that infertility was no longer a social taboo or a divine curse. He said: "IVF has revolutionised the way we look at infertility,"

Although most women have entered the menopause by their early fifties, recent advances in science mean that going through "the change" does not have to bring an end to their years of childbearing.
Women in their fifties and early sixties have as much chance as becoming pregnant as younger women – provided that they use donor eggs – studies have shown. 

The fertilised eggs, using their partner's sperm or a younger mans, are then implanted into the women, using IVF. 

But doctors warn that carrying a baby at an advanced age can place a great deal of stress on an older mother's body. 

Women who give birth in their fifties and sixties are more likely to suffer complications such as high blood pressure or diabetes, or to give birth by caesarean section, studies have shown. 

Older mothers are also more likely to have babies born prematurely or to develop a condition called pre-eclampsia, which can cause serious complications for both mother and child. 

But the trend for giving birth at an older age is on the rise in Britain.
According to official figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) 1,091 women aged 45 and over gave birth in 2007 compared to the 540 who did so in 1995. 

Source

Chinese woman, 60, gives birth to twins

The woman, whose was identified by the pseudonym Cheng, gave birth to the two baby girls prematurely on Tuesday in Hefei, capital of the eastern province of Anhui, the China Daily reported.

 

The births came 34 weeks after she became impregnated to ease the pain caused by the death of her 28-year-old daughter, Tingting, who died in a suspected gas poisoning incident early last year along with her husband, it said.

"Their cry resembles my late daughter," she was quoted as saying after the twins were born via Caesarean section.

"The girls give me and my husband the courage to live on. Despite the fact that we are old, we have the confidence to bring them up."
After Tingting's death, friends and relatives urged the woman to have another baby and she decided to try in-vitro fertilisation.
Her husband was initially against the idea but finally agreed, reluctantly, the report said.

They travelled to Beijing last May to meet gynaecology experts, most of whom thought her chances of becoming pregnant were extremely slim.

When she returned to Hefei, Cheng started taking daily medication and injections, and became pregnant after an in-vitro fertilisation procedure last October.

The two girls were in stable condition in incubators, the report said.
There have been numerous recent reports of women having babies later in life thanks to advances in assisted reproductive technology.
Two Indian women are believed to have become the world's eldest mothers in 2008 after they both gave birth at the age of 70 via in-vitro fertilisation. 



(Source) Telegraph.co.uk

Female Age, Fertility and Infertility

Female age is very important in consideration of probability for getting pregnant. Increased infertility rates with aging is well documented and very apparent in our society.

The real issue is egg quantity and quality - which translates into embryo quality after fertilization. As women wait longer to have children, more couples have fertility problems due to a decline in egg quality, and due to other issues that are more common in older women.


Many couples end up needing advanced treatments such as IVF (in vitro fertilization) to help overcome the age related decline in egg quality.

Women's liberation has brought many advantages to women. However, as women increasingly delay childbearing, our society has done a poor job of educating people about the fertility decline with aging. Too many couples learn about the impact of age when it may already be too late.

If they had tried to have a baby sooner, old-fashioned "sex in the bedroom" could have built the family. The American Society for Reproductive Medicine said it well:

"As women delay childbearing, there is now an unrealistic expectation that medical science can undo the effects of aging."
We do our best to overcome advancing age with fertility treatments such as IVF. However, egg quality is a significant limiting factor.

Individuals vs. Populations
Every individual and couple is unique and could be more fertile or less fertile as compared to the average for their age. Some 30 year olds already have significant egg quality and/or quantity issues and some 43 year olds can be fertile.
There are also no guarantees that an individual woman will have a slow and smooth drop in her fertility potential as she ages. Although rare, it is possible to have a rapid decline in egg quantity and quality as early as the teens or twenties.

Male Age and Fertility
The age of the male partner does not appear to matter much when it comes to fertility. Reasons for this include:

• All of a woman's eggs are present at birth. They can not divide or be "resupplied", whereas sperm are produced constantly after puberty in men.
• Eggs age over time, while new sperm are constantly coming off the production line.
• Sperm from older men can have a reduced fertilizing potential as compared to younger men. However, this tends to be an all or none effect. If the sperm can fertilize eggs - we generally don't see poor embryo quality due to reduced sperm quality.
• Sometimes older men have less interest in frequent intercourse, which can be a factor.

Female Age - Egg Issues

• Successful pregnancy outcome is very much related to female age - when using the woman's own eggs.
• When donor eggs are being used, the age of the egg donor is the important issue.
• With egg donation, the age of the recipient woman has very little impact on the chance for successful pregnancy.
• Therefore, the age of the egg is very important, but the age of the uterus is not.

Statistics on Female Age and Declining Fertility
Many people are not aware of the decline in fertility as the age of the female partner increases.

• There is a slow decline in pregnancy rates in the early 30's.
• The decline is more substantial in the late 30's and early 40's.
• Very few women over 44 are still fertile.
• Miscarriage rates also increase substantially as the mother ages.
• In vitro fertilization success rates start dropping in the early 30's and fall faster starting at about age 36 or 37.

A 1957 Study of Fertility Rate by Age in Women
The study was on a large population that never used birth control. The investigators measured the relationship between the age of the female partner and fertility. Infertility rates are now higher in the general population than for the population in this study from the 1950s.
This study found:

• By age 30, 7% of couples were infertile
• By age 35, 11% of couples were infertile
• By age 40, 33% of couples were infertile
• At age 45, 87% of couples were infertile Reference: Tietze C: Reproductive span and rate of conception among Hutterite women. Fertility and Sterility 1957;8:89-97.

Importance of Egg Quality to Pregnancy Outcome
Poor egg quality results in poor embryo quality, which reduces the chances for becoming pregnant and having a successful outcome.

Female Age and Egg Quality
Age is one issue, but the real fertility issue is egg quality and quantity and not the number in a woman's age. Egg quantity and quality in an individual woman can be average for her age, better than average, or worse than average. We know that egg quantity and quality tends to decline significantly in the mid to late 30s and fall faster in the late thirties and early 40s.

Fertility and "Egg Tests"
The following ovarian reserve screening tests are used by fertility specialists to predict the "remaining egg supply" and the ability (reserve) of the ovaries to respond to stimulation with drugs. These tests are helpful. However, they predict the quantity of eggs remaining - rather than the quality of those eggs.

• Day 3 FSH testing
• AMH levels
• Antral follicle counts

Available Treatment for Age Related Fertility Problems: In Vitro Fertilization
Many fertility doctors recommend that women over about 38 that are infertile should have aggressive fertility treatments and proceed to in vitro fertilization relatively quickly - before fertility potential is lost.

(Source) Advanced Fertility Center of Chicago

Unplanned pregnancy warning to older women over 35

Experts fear older women are ditching contraception in the mistaken belief that they cannot get pregnant past a certain age.

The Family Planning Association (FPA) believes the message on infertility and age has gone "too far".
Although fertility does wane, women can still get pregnant well into their thirties, forties and even fifties.
Abortion rates for women aged 40 to 44 match those for the under 16s, figures for England and Wales show.
In 2008, both of these groups had an abortion rate of four per 1,000 women.
There are many reasons why some women opt for an abortion - including birth abnormalities in the baby, which are more common when the mothers are older.
But FPA says its anecdotal evidence suggests some of the abortions are because women wrongly assumed they could not get pregnant because they were too old.
Aimed at women aged 35 and over, the FPA's new campaign 'Conceivable?' reminds women to stay vigilant about unplanned pregnancy and to keep using contraception until after the menopause if they do not wish to become pregnant.
Chief executive of the FPA Julie Bentley said: "Whilst the message about fertility declining with age is an important one, it is often overplayed, alongside disproportionate messaging about unplanned teenage pregnancies.
"It sends an inaccurate message to women and society that only the young fall pregnant and is leading older women to believe their fertility has gone long before it actually has." 

Once is enough
She said women should realise it is entirely conceivable that just one night of unprotected sex in your late 30s, 40s and even 50s can end in an unplanned pregnancy.
"Our helpline receives calls from such women, shocked this has happened to them.
"They thought their age would protect them from becoming pregnant."
She said in general all methods of contraception were suitable for the over-35s. 
Women aged 30 to 34 continue to have the highest fertility rate - 113.1 live births per 1,000 women.
But the rate among women aged 40 and over has more than doubled since 1988, from 5.1 to 12.6 per 1,000 women, and there were more than 26,000 live births to women in this age group in 2008, figures from the Office for National Statistics show.
Emily James of Marie Stopes International said: "Many older women facing an unplanned pregnancy are completely shocked to find themselves in this position - many assume that their irregular periods are due to menopause, and are surprised to learn that they are in fact pregnant.
"It is vital that women of all ages are provided with the information, support and advice they need when deciding whether or not to continue with an unplanned pregnancy." 

Source  BBC Health

Nobel Prize reflects IVF's acceptance as medical procedure

Nobel laureate Robert G. Edwards' innovation has resulted in more than 4 million children born since 1978.

Four decades ago, a majority of Americans told pollsters that the idea of creating a baby in a test tube went "against God's will." In early October, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to one of the men who helped make in vitro fertilization a reality.

Physicians specializing in fertility medicine said the prize -- awarded to 85-year-old British biologist Robert G. Edwards -- was long overdue and reflects how far the field has come. IVF initially sparked suspicion and condemnation from religious authorities, scientists, medical ethicists and the public.
n the 32 years since, more than 4 million children worldwide have been born with the help of IVF. Doctors have seen the attitudes shift in their patients, who in decades past felt stigmatized when seeking out IVF but today often regard the technique as a first option when natural methods fail. While acceptance of IVF is widespread, what still sparks controversy is how the fertility practice can potentially be misused.
The Nobel award comes on the heels of contentious debate about IVF practices such as high-dollar payments to egg donors and the January 2009 "octomom" case in which octuplets were born to Nadya Suleman after six embryos were transferred, and two split.


Meanwhile, fertility specialists must contend with the dilemma of how to handle frozen embryos and fears about the potential use of preimplantation genetic diagnosis to create "designer babies."
Public opinion toward IVF shifted quickly as the science proved successful. A month after the July 1978 birth of the first IVF-conceived baby, Louise Brown, a Gallup Poll found that a quarter of Americans opposed IVF as "not natural."
But 60% said they favored IVF because of the help it could provide to infertile couples.
More than half said they would consider using the method if they wanted to have a biological child but could not do so naturally.
"There was a concern that children might be born defective or unhealthy in some way, but when the health consequence went away, the 'playing God' thing went away for most people," said Ronald Bailey, author of the 2005 book Liberation Biology: The Scientific and Moral Case for the Biotech Revolution. "Most people just thought about the advantages -- would I want this available to me if I had trouble having children?"
Within a year of Louise Brown's birth, the U.S. National Advisory Ethics Advisory Board approved federal funding of IVF research.
Bailey said the ethicists' conclusions were "a following indicator ... the scientific success is what ratifies the moral conclusions."
That positive attitude is reflected among patients seeking fertility treatment today, said Sergio Oehninger, MD, PhD, medical director of the Jones Institute for Reproductive Medicine in Norfolk, Va., the clinic that helped produce the first baby born through IVF in the United States.
"The objections these days are none," Dr. Oehninger said. "Patients come asking today for IVF. In the past, we'd have to get there after trying everything else in terms of diagnosis and treatment. The technology is completely accepted around the world."

Source:    amednews.com