Daw Mar Mar Aye and U Maung Maung Soe will soon be the proud parents of twins. Pic: Khin Myat

FOLLOWING the birth of Myanmar’s first in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) baby in Taungoo last month, a woman in Yangon is preparing to deliver the country’s first IVF twins in November, said Professor Dr Daw Mya Mya, an obstetrician and gynaecologist from Bahosi Fertility Centre in Yangon.

Dr Daw Mya Mya said the mother, 41-year-old Daw Mar Mar Aye, was in good health and was expected to give birth to twin daughters by the end of November by caesarean section.

“Carrying twins can be difficult for a pregnant women because they are so heavy and the woman can suffer from blood pressure problems and swollen legs. Twins are usually delivered before the due date but we are giving her medicine so she can carry them for the full 38-week term,” Dr Daw Mya Mya said.

She said the delivery of twins among women who use IVF techniques to get pregnant is not unusual because multiple fertilised eggs can be implanted in the womb at the same time.

Meanwhile, the mother said she was relaxed and looking forward to the birth.
“I’ve been okay so far and I’m getting ready to give birth in November,” said Daw Mar Mar Aye, who also has a seven-year-old daughter.

“My second pregnancy ended with a miscarriage about five years ago and after that I couldn’t get pregnant because of a tube blockage. I went to see my gynaecologist to try to get pregnant again but I could not,” she said.

“Last year my gynaecologist referred me to Bahosi Fertility Centre to try IVF techniques after the first couple who tried it succeeded,” she said.

Daw Mar Mar Aye said the doctors removed eggs from her womb and fertilised them with her husband’s sperm. Five eggs were then put back into her womb.
“Luckily I became pregnant again and now I’m carrying twin daughters,” she said.

Her husband, U Maung Maung Soe, said the IVF procedure has cost K5 million so far but he does not mind the expense.

“If we had gone abroad for IVF it would have cost more and taken more time, and the results would not have been certain,” he said. “Here it is easy to go to the clinic for a check-up and it doesn’t take much time.”