70-year-old woman delivers twins after years of barrenness

A 70-year-old woman conceived twins on Thursday, defying both reason and scientific analysis in an event she described as miraculous.

Safina Namukwaya, a native of Uganda, expressed her elation over the birth of her twins on Wednesday at a fertility treatment facility in the capital city of Kampala.

"This is an extraordinary accomplishment; at the age of 70, Africa's oldest mother gave birth to twins," said AFP's physician, Edward Tamale Sali, who oversaw her pregnancy and delivery.

He stated that the infants, a boy and a girl, were in excellent health despite remaining in the care of the Women's Hospital International and Fertility Centre, which he established.

"At this moment, words fail to adequately convey my elation," Namukwaya, who resides in the rural municipality of Masaka, 75 miles (120 kilometres) west of Kampala, said.

"At the age of seventy, when I am considered frail and incapable of conceiving, giving birth, or caring for a child, the twins are a miracle," she telephoned to AFP.

Namukwaya disclosed that she had previously delivered a daughter in 2020, despite being ridiculed as a "cursed woman" for her infertility in the past.

She stated that her first husband passed away in 1992, leaving her childless, and that she and her present spouse first met in 1996.

Namukwaya lamented, however, that her companion has not paid her a visit since the time she arrived at the hospital to give birth.

"Perhaps he is not pleased with the fact that I gave birth to twins, as men may hesitate to learn that they are carrying more than one child for fear of the potential responsibilities that may accompany that."