CHENNAI: The first babies born through state government-run in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) programme have been discharged from the Institute of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Government Hospital for Women and Children, Egmore, more than a month after their premature birth.
The baby boy and girl, born on June 23 by caesarean section at 31 weeks of pregnancy after their mother suffered a premature rupture of membranes, required respiratory support in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
The twins were discharged on August 4 after their condition stabilised. Their 32-year-old mother is the first woman in the state to give birth after conceiving through IVF at the Centre for Assisted Reproduction established at Egmore hospital.
The government launched the initiative to make IVF, which typically costs several lakh rupees at private hospitals, accessible to economically weaker families. The couple had been married for five years without children before doctors transferred the embryo in the first week of December 2025.
“My twin babies are doing well. The girl baby now weighs 1.6 kg and the boy 1.7 kg. Doctors have advised us to monitor their weight regularly, and both are gaining weight well. The doctors took good care of us,” the mother told TNIE.
Dr M Kuppulakshmi, the institute director said a second woman who conceived through IVF at the same centre has also delivered a baby boy and is expected to be discharged soon.
