Jaipur, Aug 27 (IANS) In a rare incident, the 55-year-old Rekha Kalbelia, wife of Kavara Ram Kalbelia, gave birth to her 17th child at the Community Health Centre in Jhadol block of Rajasthan’s Udaipur district, drawing her relatives and well-wishers, including her own grandchildren.

Residents of Lilavas village, Rekha and Kavara, have had a total of 17 children over the years. Of these, five, four boys and one girl, died shortly after birth. The couple now have 12 surviving children: seven sons and five daughters.

According to Kavara, two sons and three daughters are married. These married children have two to three children each, making Rekha a grandmother many times over, even before the birth of her youngest child.

The family’s financial condition remains dire. Kavara, who works as a scrap dealer, said he had to borrow money at interest to arrange the weddings of his children. “No member of the family has ever gone to school,” he admitted.

Dr. Roshan Darangi, who oversaw the delivery, said Rekha initially claimed it was her fourth childbirth.

“Later, we came to know that she had already delivered 16 children, five of whom had died. With so many previous deliveries, the uterus becomes weak and the risk of excessive bleeding increases. The mother’s life could have been in danger. Fortunately, everything went well,” she said.

–IANS

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