A woman from the city of San Nicolás de los Arroyos became a mother for the first time at 62 years old after successful infertility treatment.
A child named David was born via cesarean section on Wednesday morning at the San Felipe hospital. He weighed 2.75 kilograms and was in “perfect” condition. The mother, Mabel, became pregnant through in vitro fertilization (IVF) — a method of assisted reproduction in which an egg is fertilized by sperm in a laboratory. The treatment was carried out by Dr. Matías Colabianchi from Rosario, local media reported.
After the birth, Mabel remained in the hospital, and her son David spent several hours in the neonatology unit. In an interview with Diario El Norte, Mabel talked about the course of her pregnancy and assured that the child “was born healthy and in good condition.” She added: “Everything was very good. I am 62 years old, this is my first child, the pregnancy came through in vitro fertilization. The pregnancy was wonderful, he was born by cesarean section… He is beautiful.”
Rare case and the path to motherhood
The mother’s age made this pregnancy a rare case, as women at 62 years old typically have already gone through menopause. That is why Mabel used assisted reproduction, in which the egg is fertilized outside the body, and then the embryo is transferred to the uterus. Such procedures can be used even after the end of the natural reproductive period.
“I decided to have a child now because many years ago I went through menopause, but I always dreamed of becoming a mother. I did not give up. I am a very faithful woman. I prayed, put all my energy into it, and felt in my heart that I would become a mother. One day I finally dared and made an appointment at the institute in Rosario, with Dr. Colabianchi,” Mabel said from the hospital.
After that, she began infertility treatment, which was carried out using donor eggs. “There were never any obstacles because of my age. The treatment was done with donor eggs, as at my age I no longer have my own eggs. Everything went wonderfully: the treatment, the formation of the embryo, the pregnancy — and finally, David was born. I am very happy. I always wanted to be a mother,” she emphasized.
Support from doctors and international context
Meanwhile, the midwife who handled this case, Dr. Romina Ruffini, assured that Mabel’s pregnancy proceeded “normally and without complications.” “She is a very responsible patient, always calm and confident. She did everything that was required of her, on time and properly, fully trusting the doctor,” Ruffini noted. According to her, during the monitoring, there were no situations that could negatively affect the course of the pregnancy.
Mabel, for her part, acknowledged the medical support: “I am very grateful to the doctor. Dr. Ruffini was wonderful with me. I am healthy, I have a healthy uterus, and that helped me a lot. Otherwise, it would have been impossible.” She also addressed other people who dream of having a child: “You should not give up. Menopause in our time is not an insurmountable obstacle — science has advanced significantly. I was very well taken care of.”
Mabel’s motherhood is an exceptional case in Argentina. In other countries, there are also known cases where women have become mothers after 60 years old with the help of assisted reproductive technologies. In 2005, Romanian Adriana Iliescu gave birth to a child at 66 years old. A year later, Spaniard María del Carmen Bousada de Lara gave birth to twins a few days before her 67th birthday. And in 2015, Annegret Raunigk gave birth to quadruplets at 65 years old after undergoing an assisted reproduction procedure in Ukraine.
Source: La Nación
