Britains's Oldest Mum-To-Be

[daffy654]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8054142.stm

What age should women stop having children?
I think this woman is being very selfish and has only considered her wants and needs,not those of the child she is carrying. When this child starts high school it's mum will be quite elderly and possibly infirm,the child may well end up being a carer for her.

[Lonnie]

Have to agree with you you daffy, but the worst thing in this case, is that this woman lives alone, how she qualified for IVF I don't know.

Another symtom of the 'its my right' culture.

[marval]

She should not be allowed to have a child. She might want one but she is putting herself at risk, giving birth at her age. The poor child is going to be teased all it's life, with people saying "is that your grandmother?". Why didn't she stop and think? If the child is born with problems, I wonder how she will cope then, and who is funding this child as she is of pensionable age?

There should be an age limit for all, and no doctor should use IVF on older women.

[grasscarp]

I was exhausted as a mum in my early thirties running around after a toddler. I dont care how "fit" she claims to be now, it is hard work for someone half her age. Crazy that she is doing this, and that someone has helped her to do it.

[jno]

she may feel fit now; 66 isn't nearly as old as it used to be. But when baby is 10, mum will be 76 and rather less able to chase her around. And when baby is 20 and starting to make her way in the world, mum will be 86 and only able to give advice that was good in 1963 or so.

But the upside of 'it's my right' is that, clearly, this is a wanted child. Many are not.

[andy-hughes]

I have always held the view that children are a gift, not a right.

Nature sorts out childbirth at suitable times for the extention of the speices, from puberty to menopause, the times when a mother is most able to be able to care for and rear her offspring to maturity.

I do feel it is selfish to expect to have a child what ever the circumstances, but I try very hard not to be in the business of moral judgement.

[brionon]

Ask the kid when it's 16 if it would rather not have been born.

[mamasaurus]

I really think the papers and the public are wrongfully accusing Mrs Adney for being selfish and painting her as some rich old lady who just wants a toy. As usually happens in the papers, they only write what they think will get people to read....not always the truth. In one paper they say her house is worth 600,000...in another they say 400,000. Where I come, from that's a big difference in sums. This sounds like a woman who is finally getting the family she always hoped for. Who are we to spit on her for that? Regardless of what her neighbours say in various newspapers, Mrs Adney does have friends and family that love and support her very much. Her child will never have to worry about having people around who will care for both him and his mum when the time comes. How many children of young parents lose their mum from some illness? How many women with known illnesses go on to have babies even though doctors tell them they might not live to see the baby grow? Are they selfish too?

[andy-hughes]

Having a child when you know you are unlikely to be around to raise it to adulthood carries an element of selfish behaviour.

I utterly understand the need and desire to have a child, and cannot immagine the pain of being unable so to do.

But that need has to be balanced with the needs of the child - and tha parent's likelyhood of being around long enough to send a developed and rounded person out into the world.

That is why nature stops childbirth at an age where most women are getting to an age where caring and rearing are becoming increasingly difficult.

Of course there are exceptions, but the law of averages suggests that the older the parent at conception, the younger the child will be when it becomes an orphan - aside from the issues of the parent being physicallly less and less capable of dealing with the rigours of child rearing.

It's sad, but it needs very very careful thought before embarking on such a course of action.

[New Judge]

The woman is a complete and utter idiot.

[sn�gs]

What is wrong with a fluffy kitten?

[zzxxee]

no good for the child as it gets older i think its unfair as the generation gap is to large different outlooks and mum is takeing a huge risk with her health getting pregnant so late

[devilspawn]

but then shouldn't the same apply to men. I know it is physically possible for men to procreate for god knows how long but are they not being selfish as I presume they will kick their clogs before the child is an adult. I didn't see many people criticising Des O'Connor....it was more what a good chap for still being able to manage it.....

[Oneeyedvic]

Just curious.

If you have a terminal illness - maybe a life expectancy of 10 years, should you not be able to have a child?

How about if you have a handicap - so that your child may have to look after you as you get older - should you again be prohibited from having a child?

[jno]

no, you shouldn't be prohibited, Vic, and neither should this woman; I wouldn't want the state to get involved in people's ovaries. But I wonder how many women, knowing they had only a few years to live, would actually decide to have a child? Some, probably, but I suspect many others would decide it would be unfair to the child to be left with only one parent while still young.

Odd how this won't be a viable joke any more:

http://images5.cafepress.com/product/178547115 v92_350x350_Front.jpg

[mamasaurus]

How do we know this woman will die shortly? My grandmother is still kicking around at almost 100 and still driving and taking care of herself and my even older grandfather! They live by themsleves and still do everything as they always have. He even runs the whole farm by himself! If they had had a baby at 66,they would have been able to see grandchildren being born! For all we know, this woman could live on for another 30 years....that's more than I will and I just had my second 6 months ago.

As for the comments about the baby wishing he/she were never born...well that's just out right cruel. Maybe your mother wishes that about you. How would you feel if someone suggested that?!?

[New Judge]

The State is involved with her overies - at least the output from them. The child will probably ne orphaned before it leaves secondary school. Then the State will have to step in to care for it.

This stupid woman is only considering her own requirements and not that of the child.

[mamasaurus]

The papers have made it out that this woman is all alone in the world, but how do you know this, New Judge.?Do you actually believe everything the papers tell you? I am sure that this woman, if capable of running a factory for many years, she is equally capable of organizing things so her child will be cared for by someone close to her rather than the state , in the horrid event that she dies before the child is old enough to fend for themselves. Do you actually think this woman is a hermit with no friends or family? Maybe she is trying to keep her personal life out of the news to protect her child...a true sign of a mother.

You are entitled to your opinion, but you don't need to be mean and rude about it. AND, she can't be an idiot if she's been so sucessful in her business. By the way, do you have children? If so, how old were you when they were born?

Woman are easily having children into their 40s these days , when that would have been unheard of even 40 years ago. Maybe this woman is just ahead of her time.

I'd much prefer to see an older,wiser woman having a baby than some twelve year old. That's where most of the state does it's work.....taking care of their children!