World's oldest new parents in intensive care following birth of twins
The world's oldest new parents are now in intensive care just over a week after giving birth to twin girls, according to the Telegraph.
Indian couple Erramatti Mangayamma, 73, and Raja Rao, 80, made headlines on Sept. 5, when Mangayamma, a farmer from the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, became pregnant through IVF and gave birth to the babies via caesarian section. The couple had been married since 1962 but had had difficulty conceiving naturally.
"The surgery went well ... the mother and the babies are all healthy with no complications," Dr. Sanakayyala Umashankar, who performed the surgery, told CNN at the time.
Yet, just a day after the announcement, Rao reportedly collapsed from a heart attack and was taken into intensive care. Since giving birth, Mangayamma has also been in intensive care, though it is unclear why.
The girls' births have also sparked a heated debate over the ethics of letting a septuagenarian — a person between 70 and 79 years of age — undergo IVF treatment, the Telegraph notes. Umashankar denied claims that he was trying to break any records and has since accused Mangayamma of lying about her age.
Experts told the British newspaper that allowing someone as old as Mangayamma go through IVF poses a number of risks, including hypertension and eclampsia. But Mangayamma's niece, Lakshmi Bhia, told the Times of London in a separate interview that the couple is in stable condition.
The twin girls, who weighed under five pounds at birth, are also stable, Bhia added.
