On Thursday, a 74-year-old woman in Andhra Pradesh gave birth to twins with doctors saying she may be the oldest woman to give birth and it might be a world record.

Dr Sanakkayala Aruna, the gynaecologist under whose care the caesarean section was performed, said that E Mangayamma from Draksharamam in the East Godavari district of the state delivered two girls at Ahalya Hospital in Guntur through a caesarean (C-section). Both the mother and the newborn twins are safe and stable.

The woman, who married her husband, 80-year-old E Raja Rao in March 1962, always wanted to have children but they were not able to conceive. Last year, their hopes were raised last year when one of their neighbor conceived and delivered a baby through artificial insemination, at the age of 55 years, according to a PTI report. They reached out to doctors at the private hospital, where she had given birth. The woman went through the IVF procedure and conceived in January this year. As the woman had already crossed menopause, the doctors had to get eggs from a donor and fertilized them with sperm from her husband.

Because of her age, the to-be mother was kept in the hospital under the constant care of specialist doctors. Dr Aruna told PTI that she remained healthy as she did not have diabetes or blood pressure. As she was 74-year-old, they had to perform Caesarean section to deliver the babies.

This is not the first time a septuagenarian has given birth in India. In 2016, a 72-year-old woman from Amritsar in Punjab had given birth to her first child who was conceived through IVF. 70-year-old Rajo Devi, a resident of Jind district in Haryana, also had become mother through IVF in 2008.

Yet, doctors have warned that pregnancies post the age of 35 can have certain risks, which are higher in the case of mothers who are senior citizens.