Elderly mothers: the oldest women who have given birth to children

Pregnancy and childbirth at an advanced age remain a subject of controversy. How ethical it is to give birth to children, without being sure of their health and longevity, is a big question. In several countries, the authorities are trying to legislate the birth of children by women after menopause.
Former French Minister of Health Philippe Douste-Blazy called pregnancies after 50 “immoral and dangerous, both in relation to the health of the mother and in relation to the health of the child”. Some consider this unforgivable, their opponents object that the average age of life increases every year, and it will not be long before it reaches a hundred years or even more, and such women, as a rule, take much more care of their health .

In 2006, Maria entered the Guinness Book of Records by giving birth to twins, Pau and Christian. The new mother was 67 years old. We don’t know much about her: a woman got pregnant through IVF, lying about her real age. She convinced the doctors that she was only 55 years old. It was her first pregnancy, and when the paparazzi besieging her room tried to find out from Mary why she had had a baby so late, she replied evasively, “That’s life, I have my own motives”. The babies weighing 1.6kg each were perfectly healthy, which is rare for twins born to an elderly mother.
The doctors said that Maria was a very kind woman, even though she was alone. As it turned out later, to do IVF, she sold the house. Before that, she worked as a saleswoman in a supermarket. Never married. But her own mother died at the age of 101, so Mary hoped to experience the same.
Unfortunately, it did not work out: three years later, Maria died of ovarian cancer, and the children were brought up by her niece.

The exact age of the woman in labor is unknown, as Omkari, an elderly woman from one of the Indian villages, simply did not have a birth certificate. She is known to be in her 70s.
Omkari did three IVFs to get what she wanted: a son. And a girl. She already had daughters, but her dream was to give birth to an heir. As expected, the pregnancy was difficult for the woman and the children were born by cesarean section. The children’s father was happy and said that now he could finally die in peace. The family saved money for the procedure for a long time, but the required amount was collected only when both were already old. The villagers tried to dissuade Omkari and her husband from becoming parents at this age, but to no avail. How their fate developed is still unknown.

Another Indian woman gave birth to a son, Arman, in April 2016. He was the first child for Kaur, 70, and her 79-year-old husband.
Kaur herself calls the birth of a baby a blessing and admits that she has long since lost hope of becoming a mother. She was repeatedly offered to adopt a child, but she refused, hoping that one day she would hold a biological one in her hands.
In 2019, three years later, she is still alive, but she admits she can barely cope with her young son. She tires quickly, her blood pressure rises and she worries that she will not be able to take care of herself and the baby. But Kaur still says he doesn’t regret the decision.

Adriana Iliescu, a former Romanian teacher, gave birth to a daughter in 2005 at the age of 66 through IVF. The eggs and sperm that Adriana received from donors. Adriana was pregnant with triplets, but one fetus died almost immediately, and the second daughter died in the 33rd week of pregnancy due to complications.
Eliza was born perfectly healthy. As of 2019, Adriana is alive and receiving a pension which she says is enough to support herself and 12-year-old Eliza. Adriana admits that she understands she could die soon, stressing that it’s important for her to teach Elisa to take care of herself.
“I don’t have money, I’m not rich. But I have a house, jewelry and a library. These are the values ​​I have, and Eliza will never sell my books because I know at what price. she likes to read.

Photo: Getty Images