66 YO Woman Gives Birth

Published

Now folks, I am a firm believer in having babies, but I think that if you are old enough to retire, you might want to think about NOT starting a family. Why would you bring a child into the world that you most likely will not see graduate high school? Has life expectancy increased that much in the last few years? This woman was pregnant with twins via in vitro fertilization. Sadly, one was still born after her C-SECTION!!! I just think this is wrong, not because I think older people should not have babies, but more along the lines of being able to do the physically demanding job of parenting. I may be wrong, but I just figured menopause had a purpose?

Specializes in Community Health Nurse.

women o' women....pleeezzzz! :uhoh3: why why why pick apart any woman for being a woman at any age! don't our men put us down enough without us beating up on ourselves every chance we get? :p

judge not less ye be judged. :nono: for every negative, there is a positive. for every "coulda shoulda woulda" is a done deal. i would say i'm appalled at those women who badger other women for choices they make (made) in their lives, but we all know that is what women do to each other. no wonder "men who can...do" because we applaud the man for having the testosterone to "do" at any age, but we emotionally and mentally assault women for having the guts to do what most other women would not. why should we settle for defeat after 35? are we dead yet? :rolleyes:

i wish any woman well who chooses to do things other women dare not do. many grandmothers are raising "grandchildren" on their own in their fifties, sixties, and beyond, so who cares if the child turns out to be her "child" instead. many women in the bible had babies in their "later years" (as our society puts it). too many of us "live within the box" so long, we will never be able to enjoy the world waiting for us "outside the box"............and what amazing blessings we are passing up by not doing so. :)

:balloons: congrats to that wo-man and her newborn baby! if they only get to love each other for ten seconds, ten minutes, or ten years, so be it. god brought her and the baby to it, and he will see her and her baby through it! :)

there are many women who are much much younger than that woman who never live to see their child grow up. life happens when it happens, and age is no respector of that human condition. live and let live! she has my blessings! it's not for me to judge her choices. i bet when that baby was born, all the angels in heaven were singing joyous music! god knows "no age". he is ageless! a woman giving birth in her sixties -- or any age for that matter -- is but a nanno second to god. praise him from whom allllll blessings flow!!!

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Dear cheerful,

That's nice that you are so unjudgemental, except of people who have a different opinion than your's, then you blast them into outerspace with your fingerwagging chastisements. I guess the rest of us aren't so spiritually endowed as you.:rolleyes:

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Dear cheerful,

That's nice that you are so unjudgemental, except of people who have a different opinion than your's, then you blast them into outerspace with your fingerwagging chastisements. I guess the rest of us aren't so spiritually endowed as you.:rolleyes:

heh heh

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Specializes in geriatrics.

I would dare say that any grandparent raising their grandchildren does it not out of out right desire to do so, but out of a sense of responsibility to the child that is neglected or abandoned by its parent. Not to say they don't love the child, and hopefully they don't resent the child in these situations(though my inlaws did....:crying2: with my SILs kid) but it was most likely the best reponse to a bad situation. This lady has created a problem for someone, purposely. She is not going to live forever....and she will undoubtedly love and cherish her child, which makes it even more tragic that she chose to be a parent when she KNEW she was nearing the average lifespan limits. And before you start yelling at me, I am well aware that the mother may well live another 40 years, but we all know the odds are against her. I am not advocating that she not be allowed to have children;I do think it should be her choice. It is true no one is guaranteed tomorrow, and there are children left motherless every day, I just feel it is not in the best interest of either of them. And I think if I found myself pregnant at 65 years old, I would accept it as God's will, but I would never seek to beat biology. JMHO:chair:

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women o' women....pleeezzzz! :uhoh3: why why why pick apart any woman for being a woman at any age! don't our men put us down enough without us beating up on ourselves every chance we get? :p

judge not less ye be judged. :nono: for every negative, there is a positive. for every "coulda shoulda woulda" is a done deal. i would say i'm appalled at those women who badger other women for choices they make (made) in their lives, but we all know that is what women do to each other. no wonder "men who can...do" because we applaud the man for having the testosterone to "do" at any age, but we emotionally and mentally assault women for having the guts to do what most other women would not. why should we settle for defeat after 35? are we dead yet? :rolleyes:

i wish any woman well who chooses to do things other women dare not do. many grandmothers are raising "grandchildren" on their own in their fifties, sixties, and beyond, so who cares if the child turns out to be her "child" instead. many women in the bible had babies in their "later years" (as our society puts it). too many of us "live within the box" so long, we will never be able to enjoy the world waiting for us "outside the box"............and what amazing blessings we are passing up by not doing so. :)

:balloons: congrats to that wo-man and her newborn baby! if they only get to love each other for ten seconds, ten minutes, or ten years, so be it. god brought her and the baby to it, and he will see her and her baby through it! :)

there are many women who are much much younger than that woman who never live to see their child grow up. life happens when it happens, and age is no respector of that human condition. live and let live! she has my blessings! it's not for me to judge her choices. i bet when that baby was born, all the angels in heaven were singing joyous music! god knows "no age". he is ageless! a woman giving birth in her sixties -- or any age for that matter -- is but a nanno second to god. praise him from whom allllll blessings flow!!!

how about a post after the "high" wears off.

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No need to be nasty, people, we all have a right to our opinions.

Renee, I do hear what you are saying,but I must say I'm surprised at your response here. This after all, was not God's doings but it was man playing God through science, IMHO.

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Specializes in Oncology/Haemetology/HIV.
just throwing it out there, but what if this woman develops Alzheimers in a year or two? She forgets to feed the child or some other devastating thing? she is 66 after all. Where is she may have many years ahead of her, what kind of life can she provide this child? She isn't going to be able to run and do things with this child like the younger counter parts would, when this child is 4 and beginning school she will be 70, is she going to go on field trips? What about thinking about the child...the stigma of having to explain to the other children " no this isn't my grandmother, she's my mom".

How many times do we see MEN 60, 70, 80 years old fathering children? And yet no one ever says a word about that issue, that they may die before the child comes of age, how good a parent that they can be?

Women are expected to accept menopause as G-d's will for them to stop procreating. Perhaps, men should respect "erectile dysfunction" as G-d's will that they have outaged their sex lives and should stop...perhaps we should ban viagra use after 50 or so?

(Having said that, I think that this woman's choice is nuts, but it is her right of choice)

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Specializes in Happily semi-retired; excited for the whole whammy.
JUst to play devils advocate a little

Who's to say this woman won't live to be a highly active octogenarian who may well live into her late ninties and early hundreds?

We're health care professionals who's DUTY it is to preserve life and encourage healthy living.

So why are we killing this woman off so flippantly?

Where's your optimism guys?

A new member of the human race just said hello.

Let's just say hello back and welcome!

It's not our place to judge. simply to treat illness and enhance life

Isn't it?

I would have to disagree with that. Perhaps this woman will live a long and prosperous life. However, this baby came into the world prematurely and is at a hugely increased risk of complications. Another baby has already died. It is tragic enough under any circumstances; shouldn't we as a society think long and hard about inseminating a woman with babies who are at such a high risk???

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Specializes in ED, Cardiac Medicine, Retail Health.

Is it socially acceptable to place an age limit on child bearing/rearing. Older people do it for a variety of reasons. Some for noteriety, some for genuine love and the unquinchable desire to procreate, and others because the technology is available for another chance at experiencing the joy of parenting. I hope that this women has all of her ducks in a row in terms of providing for the childs feduciary, physical, and mental needs. I would never start a family at an age where I could be doing something that would require a lot less time, energy, and sacrifice. But I already have children, and if this is the womens first child, than I hope that she enjoys motherhood and parenting as many has before her.

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Specializes in Happily semi-retired; excited for the whole whammy.
How many times do we see MEN 60, 70, 80 years old fathering children? And yet no one ever says a word about that issue, that they may die before the child comes of age, how good a parent that they can be?

Women are expected to accept menopause as G-d's will for them to stop procreating. Perhaps, men should respect "erectile dysfunction" as G-d's will that they have outaged their sex lives and should stop...perhaps we should ban viagra use after 50 or so?

(Having said that, I think that this woman's choice is nuts, but it is her right of choice)

The difference is biology. Women carry the baby, and a 66 year old womb is not a healthy place for a baby, as was evidenced here, with the demise of one baby and the premature birth of another. Sometimes it is better to respect the limits nature puts on us, IMHO.

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I think that there ought to be criteria set, just as there are for organ transplants, for extreme infertility treatments such as this. It's not a responsible use of technology to be using it on a high risk patient such as this. With organ transplants, unfortunately people who are not good candidates don't get priority (unless they are a famous baseball player or rock star who ruined his liver with drugs or alcohol abuse). That's a sad reality of life, but there is a shortage of organs and if there is a liklihood of failure, then the candidate rejected.

Fertility treatments open up lots of ethical dlilemas, with the age factor being only one of them. The risk of multiple births is another.

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Specializes in Geriatrics, LTC.
How many times do we see MEN 60, 70, 80 years old fathering children? And yet no one ever says a word about that issue, that they may die before the child comes of age, how good a parent that they can be?

Women are expected to accept menopause as G-d's will for them to stop procreating. Perhaps, men should respect "erectile dysfunction" as G-d's will that they have outaged their sex lives and should stop...perhaps we should ban viagra use after 50 or so?

(Having said that, I think that this woman's choice is nuts, but it is her right of choice)

Oh I think it is terrible that men in their 60s and beyond have kids, and you are right most of society doesn't bat and eye. And I agree that this baby was the 66 yr old womans choice...and I wish her the best of luck and hope that she is able to provide this child everything it needs, emotionally and physically. I just think she wasn't thinking of the child...but that is just my opinion. :)

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