The world's oldest mother is dying just 18 months after giving birth at the age of 70. Rajo Devi Lohan (pictured above) says she's too weak to recover from complications after her IVF Pregnancy. News about her condition came as it emerged that a 66 yr old, Bhateri Devi (pictured below)has become the oldest woman in the world to have triplets.
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Some experts fear Bhateri Devi could suffer the same fate as Mrs Lohan.
Both women received IVF treatment at the same controversial clinic in India after being unable to bear children throughout their married lives, which is regarded as a stigma in their culture.
Mrs Lohan, who gave birth to her daughter Naveen in November 2008, is now confined to bed and so frail she cannot lift the little girl.
But she has no regrets, saying: 'I dreamed about having a child all my life. It does not matter to me that I am ill, because at least I lived long enough to become a mother.
Unwell: Rajo Devi Lohan, in 2008, took out loans to pay for the £2,000 IVF treatment.
'The doctor never warned me it was dangerous to have a baby at my age. But I was healthy before, and now I am very sick.'
Mrs Lohan, now 72, and her husband Balla, 73, are poverty- stricken farmers from the village of Alewa in Haryana state, north of Delhi.
After nearly 54 years of marriage they were desperate to have a child so took out loans to pay for the £2,000 IVF treatment.
They have no understanding of the risks of giving birth so late in life. Mrs Lohan is now in such pain that her sister Omi, 60, has moved in to help look after Naveen.
'Omi brings Naveen to kiss me and I tell her I love her very much,' she said. 'Her first word was "Ma". I was so happy to hear that.'
Mrs Lohan suffered internal bleeding and her womb ruptured after the caesarean birth, but she ignored doctors' orders to rest in bed and instead squatted down every day to milk the family buffalo.
She also needed difficult surgery to remove an ovarian cyst. Her body has not recovered from the two operations and she has to take daily painkillers.
Mrs Lohan's doctor Anurag Bishnoi denied her illness was linked to her pregnancy.
'Even though Rajo's health is deteriorating, at least she will die in peace,' he said. 'She does not have to face the stigma of being barren.'
The triplets
'She had an ovarian cyst that was causing her problems but that has now been removed. The IVF treatment is completely safe. Rajo is an old woman and her life expectancy was only about five to seven years.'
He stoked controversy by announcing yesterday that triplets had been born to Bhateri Devi at his National Fertility Centre in Hisar, which is also in Haryana.
Source - Daily Mail UK
