NEW DELHI - AN INDIAN woman who claims to be about 70 years old has given birth to her first child, her doctor said on Tuesday.

Rajo Devi delivered a baby girl by Caesarean section last month, said Dr Anurag Bishnoi of the National Fertility Center in northern Haryana state.

The baby girl, conceived through in vitro fertilisation treatment, was born on Nov 28 and was in good condition, the doctor said.

'I'm happy. The baby is doing well,' Ms Devi said in a telephone interview.

It is impossible to verify whether Ms Devi is the world's oldest woman to give birth as she has no birth certificate. Ms Devi, who lives in a village north of New Delhi, says she is about 70 years old and her husband, a farmer, around 72.

Ms Devi said the couple, after being childless during 55 years of marriage, received in vitro treatment at the fertility centre in April, after reading newspaper reports of a 58-year-old woman who last year delivered twins conceived through the procedure.

A growing number of couples have turned to fertility treatments in India, where there are relatively lax regulations for such procedures.

In 2006, Carmela Bousada of Spain became what was believed to be the oldest new mother when she delivered twin boys at age 66 .

Before that, Romanian citizen Adriana Iliescu gave birth to a baby girl in January 2005, also at 66. Ms Bousada was 130 days older than Ms Iliescu when she gave birth. -- AP