Mother Of 13 Pregnant With Quadruplets At Age 65

Many women over 50 are reveling in the joys of having an empty nest. Not Annegret Raunigk. The 65-year-old mother of 13 had been trying to get pregnant by artificial insemination for around a year-and-a-half when her attempts finally saw success.

Germany's Bild newspaper reports that Raunigk is now 21 weeks into her pregnancy... with quadruplets. "

Though pregnancy over age 35 is considered to be higher risk, according to the Mayo Clinic, Raunigk gave birth at age 55 to her now youngest daughter. In fact, it was reportedly at her youngest daughter's urging for a little brother or sister that the grandmother of seven decided to try for a pregnancy again.

Germany's RTL reports that the expectant mother is experiencing a normal pregnancy, though any pregnancy involving quadruplets naturally can be more challenging.

Some medical professionals are criticizing her decision to get pregnant, however. "Any pregnancy of a woman over age 45 has to be considered a high-risk pregnancy; over 60 this is naturally extreme," Dr. Holger Stepan, head of obstetrics at the University of Leipzig said, according to The Associated Press.

"The 65-year-old body is definitely not designed to carry a pregnancy, not of one child and certainly not of quadruplets," Stepan said.

But after so many pregnancies, it seems the mother-to-be is defiant. "How does one have to be at 65? One must apparently always fit some cliches which I find rather tiring. I think, one must decide that for oneself," she told RTL.

The broadcaster will air a full interview with Raunigk Monday night.

AFP reports that Raunigk is due this summer, which will reportedly make her the oldest mother to ever give birth to quadruplets. According to the Guinness World Records, the oldest mother to give birth had twins just days before her 67th birthday.





At the time 55, Annegret Raunigk poses with her daughter Lelia on the 3rd of November in 2005. It is her 13th child and was fathered and born naturally, but unexpectedly. She already has children ranging in age from 9 to 44, from five fathers. Raunigk said she decided to become pregnant again because her 9-year-old daughter wanted a younger sibling.

Her decision was met with widespread criticism by medical professionals as a risk both to her and the unborn babies.

"Any pregnancy of a woman over age 45 has to be considered a high-risk pregnancy; over 60 this is naturally extreme," Dr. Holger Stepan, head of obstetrics at the University of Leipzig, told the dpa news agency.

"The 65-year-old body is definitely not designed to carry a pregnancy, not of one child and certainly not of quadruplets," he said.

Raunigk told Bild that donated eggs were fertilized and implanted at a clinic outside Germany, which was successful only after multiple attempts.

She defended her decision: "How does one have to behave at 65?"

"They can see it how they want to," she said, "and I'll see it the way I think is right."

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/13/mother-65-quadruplets-german_n_7054068.html?utm_hp_ref=weird-news&ir=Weird+News and provided by entertainment-movie-news.com