Woman gives birth to own grandchildren

By RAKESH PATEL
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

AHMADABAD, India -- A 43-year-old woman in western India gave birth to her own grandchildren after she acted as the surrogate mother for her daughter's twin children, doctors said Friday.

The names of the woman and her daughter were being withheld at the family's request, said Dr. Nayana Patel, the fertility expert who treated the women.

The births happened nearly two weeks ago in Anand, a town 60 miles south of Ahmadabad, the commercial capital of western Gujarat state, she said.

The daughter suffers from a rare medical condition that left her unable to bear a child.

The twins, a boy and a girl, were born within 90 seconds of each other and weighed 4.4 pounds and 3.97 pounds respectively, Patel said.

"The children are doing fine, as is their grandmother. The Caesarean section delivery took us just half an hour and there were no complications," Patel said.

Surrogate births involve removing an egg for fertilization and implanting it in another woman who carries the baby to birth.