Pregnant at 66, and Loving It

Pregnant at 66, and Loving ItA British woman, Elizabeth Adeney, has apparently become pregnant through in-vitro fertilization at 66. She's no Octomom, but her pregnancy is bound to raise eyebrows, as well as debate. A 66-year-old is set to become the ­oldest woman to give birth in Britain, it was reported last night. She is four years older than the ­previous record holder, Patricia Rashbrook, who gave birth in 2006, aged 62.

Elizabeth Adeney, a 66-year-old woman from Suffolk, England, is eight-months pregnant. Yes, pregnant at 66, and loving it.They're running a poll on whether it should be illegal to provide fertility treatments to women who are too old to conceive naturally.

You may raise your eyebrow because getting pregnant at her age is somewhat questionable but Elizabeth really wanted to have a baby. She is a very rich divorcee who has been wanting to have a child for years. She travelled al l the way to the Ukraine just to visit the controversial IVF clinic there which has helped a n umber of women get pregnant using donor eggs and sperm.

Next month, Elizabeth Munro will give birth. At 66 she is Britain's oldest pregnant woman. She surpasses the record of Patricia Rashbrook who became pregnant at 62.

A friend of Adeney told the Daily Mail she was still working a five-day week, in perfect health and looking ­forward to what is thought to be her first child. Adeney, a divorcee from Lidgate near Newmarket, Suffolk, runs her own textile company. She had been ­desperate to conceive for years, the unnamed friend said.

Last night Adeney declined to discuss her condition in any detail. "I am a private person and while I appreciate there may be some publicity I will just ignore it," she told the Mail. "This has been a very personal decision and I do not feel I have to give interviews or talk to anyone in the media about what I have decided to do and where I have done it."

The world's oldest woman to give birth was Omkari Panwar, 70, from India, who gave birth to a twin boy and girl last year.

Professor Severino Antinori, who treated Rashbrook and has pioneered the IVF techniques involved in impregnating older women, said Munro, who will be 67 in July, was too old.

"I am shocked by the idea of a 66-year-old woman giving birth," he said. "I respect the choice medically but I think anything over 63 is risky because you cannot guarantee the child will have a loving mother or family.

"It is possible to give a child to the mother up to the age of 83 but it is medically criminal to do this because the likelihood is that after a year or two the child will lose his mum and suffer from psychological problems."