London - A 66-year-old businesswoman was Thursday reported
to have become Britain's oldest mother after giving birth to her
first child, a healthy baby boy.
Media reports said Elizabeth Adeney, who travelled to Ukraine to
have fertility treatment, delivered the baby by Cesarian section at
Addenbrooke's hospital in Cambridge on Tuesday.
Adeney, who is going to be 67 in July, was due to give birth next
month, but brought the procedure forward, the Daily Mirror said. She
had earlier made clear that she had wanted to keep her pregnancy and
birth secret.
A hospital spokesman said Thursday: 'She has told us that
she wants no publicity.'
Adeney, a wealthy businesswoman and divorcee, was earlier reported
to have received IVF treatment using a donor egg at a clinic in
Ukraine.
In Britain, Adeney would take the title of 'oldest mother' from
Patricia Rashbrook, who had a son, at the age of 62 in 2006,
following treatment from Italian fertility doctor Severino Antinori.
However, Antinori told a British newspaper earlier this month that
he was 'shocked' at the prospect of Adeney having a child.
'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,' he said.
But Adeney is on record as saying that she is 'fitter' than most
of the younger women working for her in her plastics and textiles
company.
'I don't have to defend what I've done. It's between me, my baby
and no-one else,' she said.
In 2006, Carmela Bousada of Spain was believed to have become the
oldest mother of twins at 66. The oldest mother in the world is
believed to be an Indian woman, Omkari Panwar, who gave birth at the
age of 70 in 2008.
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