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MADRID - A Spanish woman believed to have become the world's oldest new mother when she gave birth at 66 has died at 69, leaving behind twin toddlers, newspapers reported Wednesday.
Maria del Carmen Bousada, who reportedly died Saturday, gave birth in December 2006 as a single mother after getting in vitro fertilization treatment at a clinic in Los Angeles.
The births ignited a firestorm of debate over how old is too old for a new mother, and how much responsibility fertility clinics have over who gets treatments.
MADRID - A Spanish woman believed to have become the world's oldest new mother when she gave birth at 66 has died at 69, leaving behind twin toddlers, newspapers reported Wednesday.
Maria del Carmen Bousada, who reportedly died Saturday, gave birth in December 2006 as a single mother after getting in vitro fertilization treatment at a clinic in Los Angeles.
The births ignited a firestorm of debate over how old is too old for a new mother, and how much responsibility fertility clinics have over who gets treatments.
Exactly why fertility clinics should be closely regulated. Those poor kids.
And some women die at 25. You don't know, at 25 or 65, how long you have or whether your children will be left alone.
Your right no one knows when they will die... but seriously you have to see that 65 is too old to have children... lets say that this women lived by the time her kids are 5 is she going to have enough energy to take them to school everyday... or how about field trips or playdates... when these kids are 10 and she's 75.. will she have energy to take one to softball practice and the other to soccer practice... then drive them to the malls and movies... or how about when these kids are 15... and she has to go through those wonderful teenage years... when then want to date and she has to give them lectures about birth control and diseases... or how about when she 84 and they are graduating is she going to take them on a road trip to check out colleges and go with them to pick out prom dresses... and how about financially ??? so many thing go into being a parent its not just that you are able to concieve them!
Surprise, surprise. Thats why we get the menopause. And having kids at 66 is enough to put anyone in jeopardy....its exhausting being a parent - lovely, but exhausting......why would anyone in their right mind want babies at 66? Poor children - I hope they are adopted into a lovely family.
It's sad, but perhaps for the best that she died when they are only toddlers and not when they are older. She also didn't have serious health problems for years like what could have happened.
One of my exes was born when his mom was 40 and his dad was 60. His brother was born a few years later. On one hand it was great because both of his parents were professors (his father actually quite famous and respected) so he and his brother traveled the world to their conferences and on their research projects. The parents had the background to be able to homeschool well and he went to college at 15. And when he was 16, his father was diagnosed with Alzheimers. His younger brother was 12 and his mother had retired.
So his entire late teens and now adult life, he's had to support his father. Not just financially, but he and his brother have to take turns living in the city where their father lives. It could happen at any time but its particularly hard to start your life with that kind of burden. Now in her late 60s, his mother is showing signs of the disease, but she and his father are married in name only and live on different sides of the country. He is 28 and his brother is 24- they should be starting their own families but can't because they moved from childhood into immediate caretaking of their parents.
It's really quite sad and parents who decide to have children in their 50s, 60s, and even late 40s are not foreward thinking about how their choices will affect their children.
This case is an exception - just like the young 20 year old mother that dies of aggressive breast cancer before her child is a toddler. This case is not normal, and shouldn't be used to reflect upon what is or isn't acceptable.
What is acceptable - having children you are capable of raising, whom you intend to raise and love (in some fashion) and support (in some fashion) for as long as you are able to do so and they require it.
What is not acceptable - having children you have no intention of raising, loving, or supporting and not giving them up for adoption - making their lives miserable and potentially carrying psychological scars on to the next generation.
The average lifespan of an American woman is 79.1, and 81 in Spain. This poor woman didn't even make it that far. But even if she had, her children would still only be 11. Had she been lucky and lived longer than average, maybe they would have reached adulthood. Of course no one knows how long they will live, but the odds are stacked against you when you have a child past menopause. That's why I think nature tells a woman when she is too old to have children. Beyond that is being selfish.
That's why I think nature tells a woman when she is too old to have children.
So since nature hasn't told me that yet, I should consider having children at 54?
I don't think so!
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