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04/05/2006
Woman to become UK's oldest mother at 63
A 63-year-old child psychiatrist is to become the UK's oldest mother after receiving fertility treatment.
Dr Patricia Rashbrook, from East Sussex, is seven months pregnant, after receiving fertility treatment from Italian fertility doctor Severino Antinori.
Dr Rashbrook and her second husband John Farrant, 61, released a joint statement which stressed that the decision had not been made lightly. The statement said: "A great deal of thought has been given to planning and providing for the child's present and future well-being, medically, socially and materially.
"We are very happy to have given life to an already much-loved baby, and our wish now is to give him the peace and security he needs."
The British Fertility Society raised concerns about the increased health risks which older women could face during pregnancy, such as high blood pressure and diabetes.
The announcement was also criticised by Josephine Quintavelle from Comment on Reproductive Ethics who branded Dr Rashbrook as "selfish" and said that it would be "extremely difficult" for a child to have a mother as old as a grandmother would be.
The announcement of Dr Rashbrook's pregnancy comes a week after the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority issued a warning about patients visiting foreign clinics for treatment. Dame Suzi Leather, Chair of the HFEA, said: "We have heard of some clinics which offer treatment to patients that is so dangerous that it has been banned in the UK - for example, implanting five embryos which significantly raises the chance of multiple pregnancy - the biggest risk of IVF for both mothers and babies.
"It is very sad when we receive complaints from patients about their treatment abroad and we are not able to help or reassure them. We would urge patients to think twice and consider the risks and implications before going abroad for treatment."
The oldest woman in the world to have given birth is believed to be 66-year-old Adriana Illiescu, from Romania, who had a daughter called Eliza Maria in January 2005.
(KMcA)
Dr Patricia Rashbrook, from East Sussex, is seven months pregnant, after receiving fertility treatment from Italian fertility doctor Severino Antinori.
Dr Rashbrook and her second husband John Farrant, 61, released a joint statement which stressed that the decision had not been made lightly. The statement said: "A great deal of thought has been given to planning and providing for the child's present and future well-being, medically, socially and materially.
"We are very happy to have given life to an already much-loved baby, and our wish now is to give him the peace and security he needs."
The British Fertility Society raised concerns about the increased health risks which older women could face during pregnancy, such as high blood pressure and diabetes.
The announcement was also criticised by Josephine Quintavelle from Comment on Reproductive Ethics who branded Dr Rashbrook as "selfish" and said that it would be "extremely difficult" for a child to have a mother as old as a grandmother would be.
The announcement of Dr Rashbrook's pregnancy comes a week after the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority issued a warning about patients visiting foreign clinics for treatment. Dame Suzi Leather, Chair of the HFEA, said: "We have heard of some clinics which offer treatment to patients that is so dangerous that it has been banned in the UK - for example, implanting five embryos which significantly raises the chance of multiple pregnancy - the biggest risk of IVF for both mothers and babies.
"It is very sad when we receive complaints from patients about their treatment abroad and we are not able to help or reassure them. We would urge patients to think twice and consider the risks and implications before going abroad for treatment."
The oldest woman in the world to have given birth is believed to be 66-year-old Adriana Illiescu, from Romania, who had a daughter called Eliza Maria in January 2005.
(KMcA)
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30 August 2006
Call for IVF ban for obese women
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Call for IVF ban for obese women
Fertility experts have recommended that obese women should be denied IVF treatment unless they lose weight. The British Fertility Society suggested that women who were classed as obese - defined as having a body mass index of over 29 - would have to lose weight before starting treatment.
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