73-year-old woman gives birth to twins in India

Sept. 6 (UPI) -- An Indian woman who gave birth to twin girls is believed to be the oldest person to ever give birth after having the babies at the age of 73.

Erramatti Mangayamma, 73, from Andhra Pradesh, had twins Thursday via C-section, and experts said the successful delivery makes her the oldest person on record to have successfully given birth.

Dr. Sanakayyala Umashankar, the director of Ahalya IVF, said Mangayamma and her husband, E. Raja Rao, 80, have been together since 1962, but were unable to conceive through natural means. Umashankar said the couple sought assistance from his clinic in 2018 and he agreed to give them a round of IVF treatment when initial tests showed signs of possible success.

Umashankar said the mother will be kept under observation for the next 21 days due to her advanced age.

"The surgery went well ... the mother and the babies are all healthy with no complications," Umashankar told CNN. "We are not allowing the mother to breastfeed and the babies will be fed through the milk bank."

He said the pregnancy was free of complications, owing largely to the fact that Mangayamma doesn't have diabetes, hypertension or other conditions that could make a pregnancy at her age particularly dangerous.

"I don't think she will have any major health issues in the post-delivery period," the doctor told The Hindustan Times.