JOY: 'Oldest mother' Rajo Devi and husband Bala Ram with their new baby

Rajo Devi delivered her first healthy baby at a village fertility centre. Anurag Bishnoi, the doctor who supervised the treatment, said mother and child were healthy.

Devi, of Alewa in northern India, and her land owning husband Bala Ram, 72, were both said to be thrilled at finally conceiving a child.

“We longed for a child all these years and now we are very happy to have one in the twilight years of our life,” said Ram.

The previous oldest mother was Romanian Adriana Iliescu, who was 66 when she gave birth to a daughter in 2005.

Since the introduction of IVF treatment in rural India, it has become relatively common for childless elderly couples to try to conceive a child.