60-year-old has twins

A 60-year-old woman in the western Canadian city of Calgary has given birth to twins after going to India for fertility treatment, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp reported.

The report said the twins, both boys, were seven weeks prematurely delivered by caesarean section. Though one is breathing with the help of special equipment, doctors said the twins are doing well, but will be kept in hospital until they gain weight and both can breathe on their own.

The woman, originally from India, travelled back to that country for in vitro fertilisation using donor eggs after being refused the treatment in Canada because of her age. The CBC said she had tried for years to get pregnant but had miscarried three times, even after surgery to correct a problem with her womb.

World's oldest mum gave birth at 72
While unusual, a 60-year old woman giving birth is nowhere near a record. ABC News reported in July that a 72-year-old woman in India, who already had five grandchildren, gave birth to twins after in vitro fertilisation, making her the world's oldest mother.

The CBC report said the Calgary woman's obstetrician thought it was a joke when she was referred to him before she showed up at his office. He is still questioning the implications of someone having children at an advanced age.

"I couldn't imagine if I was 65 having two five-year-olds running around crazily. The energy to do that is incredible," the CBC quoted the doctor as saying. – (Reuters Health, February 2009)

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