Visakhapatnam: A rare 'birth date' of twin daughters

Visakhapatnam: When T Bhagyalakshmi lost her two daughters in a tragic boat accident that happened in River Godavari near Katchuluru village in 2019, little did she know that she would give birth to twin girls two years later on the same date that too after getting her birth control surgery done.

Terming it as a 'miracle of sorts', Bhagyalakshmi says that her happiness knew no bounds that her year-long IVF procedure not only yielded positive results but also gave her the lost daughters back.

"My elder daughter Gita Vaishnavi was three-years-old, while the younger one Datri Ananya was only a year old when they were drowned in the boat accident. The incident claimed nine of my family members," recalls the mother, choking with emotion.

Accompanied by their grandparents, the kids were on their way to Bhadrachalam on that fateful day wherein a private boat carrying tourists capsized on September 15, 2019 in East Godavari district. "The sad part is that the bodies of my daughters could not be traced. Except my 'babai' (uncle), none of my family members survived," shares the 22-year-old mother.

For Bhagyalakshmi and Appala Raju (her husband), it was hard to accept the pain they had to put up with for the rest of their lives.

"But we began visiting hospitals to check the chances of conceiving again despite undergoing tubectomy. That's when we opted for In Vitro Fertilisation at a private IVF Centre," she says.

A year later, the process yielded results. "Exactly after completion of 36 weeks, Bhagyalakshmi experienced labour pain and gave birth to twin daughters through caesarean.

It's one of the rare IVF cases post tubectomy," explains Dr. Sudha Padmasri, gynaecologist and fertility specialist at the IVF Centre. The couple says that the joy of holding the babies again in their life is an unmatchable experience.