In an extraordinary turn of events that sounds more like a script from a dramatic movie, a 70-year-old woman from Uganda has given birth to twins, turning a page in her life that many thought was firmly in the past.
Safina Namukwaya, hailing from Masaka, located about 75 miles west of Uganda’s capital, Kampala, has lived most of her life under the shadow of being labeled “cursed” due to her inability to conceive.
But the narrative of her life took an unexpected twist when, against all odds, she became a mother to twins—a boy and a girl, both in good health—at a hospital in Kampala. This miraculous event came just three years after the birth of her first child, a daughter, at the age of 67
Dr. Edward Tamale Sali, who spoke to AFP about the birth, described it as an “extraordinary feat.” Indeed, the path to motherhood for Safina was far from conventional, involving in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments that finally allowed her to experience the joy of motherhood not once, but twice, in her twilight years.
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The story, however, takes a bittersweet turn with the reaction of her current partner, whom she met in 1996 after the death of her first husband in 1992. The joy of the newborn twins was not shared by him; in fact, he was conspicuously absent from the hospital during their birth. Safina revealed to AFP that he might not have been thrilled about the arrival of the twins, perhaps daunted by the responsibilities they brought along. According to her, he vanished during her pregnancy and has not been seen since she was hospitalized, a testament to his reluctance to embrace this new chapter.
Safina’s journey to motherhood later in life is a narrative of resilience, breaking societal norms, and the wonders of modern medicine. It’s also a stark reminder of the challenges women face in societies where fertility defines their worth. While the absence of her partner casts a shadow over this story, the birth of the twins is a beacon of hope and a symbol of triumph against adversity.
In a world that often writes off the dreams of the elderly, Safina Namukwaya stands tall, a mother at 70, defying age, societal expectations, and even biology itself, to bring new life into the world. Her story is a powerful testament to the fact that it’s never too late for miracles to happen, and sometimes, they come in pairs.
