65-Year-Old Teacher Is Oldest Woman Ever To Be Pregnant With Quadruplets
Image via: telegraph.co.uk
German school teacher Annegret Raunigk is set to retire this year from teaching English and Russian. Perfect timing: the 65-year-old is going to need as much freedom in her schedule as she can get—to raise her quadruplets! Raunigk is 21 weeks pregnant and set to become the oldest woman to ever give birth to four babies.
So, here's the thing. Raunigk already has 13 children. She didn't accidentally become pregnant again, which would have been truly amazing. Instead, she become pregnant after she was artificially inseminated with both donated sperm and an eggs. On second thought, this is just as amazing—maybe even more so because she planned to become pregnant at 65. This was no happy mistake! When a doctor offered to give her an abortion after finding out she was going to have quadruplets, she refused.
This isn't the first time Raunigk has had to hear about her advanced age and how she probably shouldn't take chances with pregnancy and childbirth. When she was 55, she made headlines for giving birth to her daughter Leila. The oldest of her 13 children is 44 and they have, in total, five different dads.
On the one hand, you just know this is a woman who doesn't give a fig what others think and that's just wonderful. When asked why she wanted to give birth at 65, she said people should do these things because they want to, without listening to others' opinions.
I want to praise her for her bold stance on women's rights, but I can't help but think: yeah, that's great for you ... is it as wonderful for your four children, who will likely be raised by a single mom who will be battling illnesses and fatigue that often come with aging?
As a parent, your job is to plan for your child's future. Obviously, unexpected tragedy can strike any one of us, regardless of age. But you're taking an incredible chance trusting that your 65-year-old body can handle the stress of carrying not one, but FOUR babies and that you can then provide for them with the insane amount of energy you'll need.
I wish this woman all the best. Perhaps she is the picture of perfect health and can run circles around most 20-year-old women. But why, why, oh why, would she want to start over at 65 with quadruplets?! I'm exhausted just thinking about her sleepless nights!
Do you think 65 is too old to give birth to quadruplets?