A 63-year-old, Mrs Temitope Ogundipe, has been delivered of a baby boy through In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) at Olives Specialist Hospital in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital.
In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday, the new mother who was full of joy over the new baby, said that faith in God and support from her husband kept her going after many years of childlessness.
According to her, she had tried to have a child for many years and had gone to many hospitals for solution but all proved abortive.
“I have tried this IVF before, which failed. It was a friend who introduced this particular hospital to me. I have to come all the way from Oyo State to Ekiti for the IVF,” she said.
She appreciated the Medical Director, MD of Olives Specialist Hospital, Dr Adebayo Adeniyi, for his words of encouragement, calmness and support throughout the process.
While urging women looking for such precious gift not to loose hope, she said, “If God can do it for me at the age of 63, he can also do yours.”
Mrs Ogundipe also advised young women battling with childlessness to seek help from specialists as early as possible.
In his remarks, Dr Adeniyi who expressed happiness at the delivery of the baby ascribed the success to Almighty God and the entire dedicated medical team.
“This hospital has recorded significant success in IVF treatment within a short time,” he added.
He used the medium to appeal to the government to subsidize IVF treatment, saying that infertility should be seen as a disease that deserves adequate attention like other chronic diseases through National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) coverage.
He maintained that this would go a long way in assisting couples who are unable to access IVF because of the high cost.