62-year-old gives birth to twins

A 62-year-old Bulgarian woman has become the country's oldest first-time mother by giving birth to twins following an embryo transfer, the daily 24 Hours reported.

Krasimira Dimitrova, a psychiatrist from the northern city of Ruse, gave birth by caesarian section on May 5 to twin baby girls, named Mary and Jacqueline, who each weighed less than 1kg.

Her pregnancy was the result of an embryo transfer, Dimitrova told the newspaper in an interview, adding that she was initially impregnated with triplets but doctors decided to remove one of the embryos.

"Age was not an obstacle for me... I so much wanted to have children," she said.

Authorities refused to let her adopt

Dimitrova, who is soon to retire, said that she was resolved to become pregnant after the authorities refused to let her adopt a child because of her age.

"I would not like to look too much in the future. I hope that the babies will be well," she said.

Georgy Hubchev, the doctor who delivered the babies, told the state BTA news agency that this was only the second case in the world of a successful embryo transfer to a woman aged over 60 resulting in the birth of twins.

The world's oldest recorded mother is 70-year-old Indian Omkari Panwar, who gave birth to twins in 2008. - (Sapa/AFP, May 2010)