By Spy Uganda
Kalungu: The resident of Nunda Village in Lwabenge Sub County, Kalungu district are rejoicing after their Ms Namukwaya shocked doctors by successfully welcoming a baby following one round of in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment – and despite being past the age of retirement.
Safinah Namukwaya has longed to welcome a child since first marrying in 1973, and sadly suffered an ectopic pregnancy – when an egg fertilises and grows outside the uterus – before the marriage collapsed.
Namukwaya married again in 1996 and longed to welcome a child with her husband, Badru Walusimbi.
Ms Namukwaya then feared her hopes of having children were over when she reached menopause when aged 45.
However, in March last year, she was encouraged by doctors at the Women’s Hospital International and Fertility Centre in Bukoto, Kampala, that IVF could be an option.
Now, at the age of 64, Ms Namukwaya has been delighted to welcome her first ever child – a baby girl that she has named Sarah.
Dr Edward Tamale Ssali, the director of the Women’s Hospital International and Fertility Centre, explained how medics helped the new mum conceive.
He told TheSpy Uganda: “What we did is that, her egg cells were fertilised outside her body and when the embryos formed, we put them back into her womb.”
He also shared his delight at the rapid success of Ms Namukwaya’s treatment, saying: “She was lucky that her first attempt resulted in a successful pregnancy because some women make several attempts and fail.”
Baby Sarah was welcomed on Thursday when Ms Namukwaya was given a caesarean after experiencing abdominal pain, high blood pressure, difficulty in breathing and swollen legs after reaching eight months.
Ms Namukwaya expressed her joy at becoming a first time mum, saying: “I really feel excited.
“It is unbelievable but I thank Allah that I have finally become a mother by His grace.” Namukwaya said.
Not first birth.
In 2009, a 54-year-old lecturer also gave birth to bouncing baby boy at Women’s Hospital International and Fertility Centre, ten years after reaching menopause.
The IVF technology, referred to as test-tube babies, was introduced in Uganda in 2004. Since then, 20,000 babies have been born at the Bukoto-based centre through IVF.
Last year, medics in India were stunned when a 75-year-old woman gave birth to a baby girl after conceiving through IVF with her 80-year-old husband.
While a 67-year-old woman in China broke records last year when she gave birth to a daughter after conceiving naturally.
