A 65-YEAR-OLD German woman has become the oldest woman alive to give birth to quadruplets as she became a mother of 17 children.

    Annegret Raunigk had three boys, Dries, Bence and Fjonn, and one girl, Neeta, born by caesarian May 19 after 26 weeks — 12 weeks less than the normal pregnancy term.

    German television station RTL said in a statement that the four newborns stood a “strong chance of survival” but possible complications couldn’t yet be ruled out because the babies are so premature.

    Schoolteacher Raunigk already had 13 children aged 9 to 44 by five different fathers when she made the decision to get pregnant again because her youngest wanted a younger sibling.

    She also has seven grandchildren and will be 70 years old by the time her youngest sons and daughters reach primary school.

    The decision prompted widespread criticism from mothers all over the world and doctors who were concerned that her body would not be strong enough to handle the pregnancy and birth.

    Raunigk had to undergo IVF treatment in Ukraine to become pregnant again and it was the result of artificial insemination using a donated egg and sperm — a procedure which is illegal in Germany.

    Raunigk said when she was in the 21st week of her pregnancy that she was “shocked” when an ultrasound scan showed she was carrying quadruplets.

    Her gynaecologist initially mentioned the possibility of a “selective reduction” — where one or more fetuses are aborted in a multi-fetal pregnancy — because of the stress multiple babies would put her body under, but she declined.

    Her decision to have more babies prompted criticism from mothers over the morality of mothering children at such an age and concern from doctors who were unsure if her body could handle the trauma of pregnancy.

    But Raunigk said that she wasn’t concerned about the people who questioned the morality of her decision to have children at pensionable age.

    “There will obviously be cliches bandied about,” she said, “and I find that quite strenuous. But I have always been a person who says live and let live and it is not for the opinion of others but for me.

    “I have enough experience of childbirth not to be afraid. I am not scared actually, I am just hoping to stay healthy and fit.

    “If others are mega-prim about this I believe they have no interesting lives themselves and therefore it no longer bothers me. I think this is the right choice.”

    (SD-Agencies)