A 65-year old Nigerian woman suffering severe rheumatoid arthritis, who hadn't walked for 11 years, is now walking again. She was treated in India and believe it or not, she will be going home with five metallic implants. It's like a second life for 65-year old Margaret to be able to stand up and walk on her own after being bedridden for 11 years.

"My fingers were so swollen, I could not even brush my teeth, my grand daughter used to help me. I couldn't stand up, couldn't walk. I couldn't go to the church. My daughter used to help me wash. My cook would feed me. And I was in great pain. I used to cry day and night," Margaret said.

A year ago, she flew down to India with her son where doctors at a private hospital in the capital performed three separate types of surgeries on her.

First, both her knee joints, which were almost worn down due to rheumatoid arthritis, had to be replaced with metallic implants. Next, she had spinal surgery to help ease the pain and correct the stoop in her back, so she could stand again. And finally, both her hip joints needed to be replaced with metallic implants.

In total, Margaret now has five metallic implants in her body.

Orthopedic surgeon Dr Yash Gulati said, "She has metal joints in her hips, metal joints in her knees, metal screws in her spine, metal all over. She was over weight, had soft bones but despite all challenges, she did well."

The surgeries cost about Rs 14 lakh in total, but Margaret has no complaints.

She said, "I was dead then, I am alive now. I want to go back to the church and I want to run my business again, be with my sons and daughters, play with my grandchildren."

After regular physiotherapy for the next few weeks, Margaret would be able to fly home to a new life.

Women who have abortions are at risk of severe mental health problems, new research has found.

The study showed that those who undergo abortion face nearly double the risk of mental health difficulties compared with others and that one in ten of all mental health problems was a result of an abortion.

The findings come as Tory MP Nadine Dorries, backed by Labour's Frank Field, has put down an amendment to a Health Bill which requires women seeking abortion to see an independent counsellor first.

Currently organisations which provide abortions offer counselling, but critics say the advice given can often be biased.

The latest research was carried out by American academic Priscilla Coleman and published in the British Journal of Psychiatry.

It adds to previous findings made public by the journal three years ago which first questioned the assumption of abortion campaigners that terminating a pregnancy reduces rather than increases the health risks to women.

Professor Coleman's study was based on an analysis of 22 separate projects which analysed the experiences of a total of 877,000 women, of whom 163,831 had had an abortion.

It said: "Results indicate quite consistently that abortion is associated with moderate to highly increased risks of psychological problems subsequent to the procedure.

"Overall, the results revealed that women who had undergone an abortion experienced an 81 per cent increased risk of mental health problems, and nearly 10 per cent of the incidence of mental health problems were shown to be directly attributable to abortion."

The study said that abortion was linked with a 34 per cent greater chance of anxiety disorders, and 37 per cent higher possibility of depression, a more than double risk of alcohol abuse - 110 per cent - a three times greater risk of cannabis use - at 220 per cent - and 155 per cent greater risk of trying to commit suicide.

Professor Coleman said her research was intended "to produce an unbiased analysis of the best available evidence addressing abortion as one risk factor among many others that may increase the likelihood of mental health problems".

She added: "There are in fact some real risks associated with abortion that should be shared with women as they are counselled prior to an abortion."

There was a time when In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) used to be immensely admired by middle-aged women for resolving issues related to pregnancy.

However, the world is advancing rapidly, and at present, young women from urban backgrounds, who are not able to envisage because of an ultra-traumatic daily life, late marriages and long-working hours are slowly but steadily turning back on In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF).

Expressing her opinion related to the contrast in preference for IVF, Indira Ganeshan, gynecologist specializing in IVF, said that the IVF was mostly used by patients between 38 and 45 years of age. But, since last seven years or so, there is a gradual and noticeable budge in the age group of women opting for IVF treatment.

IVF is a medical progression to fertilize egg cells using sperm. The most imperative thing is that the amalgamation is conducted outside the human body.

Hormonal injections are used in order to enhance the efficiency of the eggs. The eggs are later detached from ovaries, and are processed with sperm for the process of fertilization, carried out inside a regulated and cultured milieu.

During the final phase of treatment, the fertilized egg is relocated into patient's uterus so as to establish a booming and fruitful pregnancy.

The treatment method is gaining popularity rapidly. At present, nearly 70% patients are between 23 and 32 years of age, though the tendency is noticeable merely in urban locations, said Dr. Indira.