Search the Community

A woman aged 55 or older gave birth in March, making her one of Singapore's oldest mothers. The woman, whose exact age was not specified, gave birth to a boy and registered his birth in March, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) told The Sunday Times. This is only the second time a baby was born to a mother aged 55 or older since ICA started keeping birth records in 1989. In August 2016, a woman aged 55 or older gave birth to twin boys, according to ICA records. Dr Khoo Chong Kiat, who delivered the twins, said the woman was 58 when she gave birth. He added that the woman and her husband, who is four or five years older than her, had been trying for a baby for years. Dr Khoo does not remember their occupations. Dr Khoo, who runs CK Khoo Clinic for Women & Laparoscopy, said: "She was very determined to have a child. And she stretched social and medical norms. "Once you hit menopause, there's no need to think of babies anymore but she managed to conceive through in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) using her own eggs even after menopause." Dr Khoo said his patient had previously appealed to the health authorities to be allowed to undergo IVF here to no avail. Last month, the Government announced the lifting of the age limit of 45 for women to undergo IVF treatments here and this will take effect from Jan 1. Dr Khoo's patient went to a fertility clinic in Johor Baru even though she had reached menopause at the age of 50. Through hormone replacement therapy and with the help of IVF drugs, her menstrual cycle started again and she managed to produce eggs. Her eggs were mixed with her husband's sperm in a lab and the resulting embryos were implanted in her womb. However, she developed pre-eclampsia, a pregnancy complication characterised by high blood pressure, and the twins had to be delivered by cesarean about three weeks premature. This was a very rare case, Dr Khoo said, adding that the boys are healthy. He cautioned that older mothers face significant health risks, from a higher risk of pre-eclampsia and gestational diabetes to having a child with a genetic disease. The woman believed to be the world's oldest mother is a 74-year-old Indian national who gave birth to twin girls earlier this month through IVF using donor eggs. Her 82-year-old husband collapsed from a heart attack shortly after the birth, while she remained in intensive care. While the Singaporean couple were elated to finally become parents, they hid the good news from relatives. Dr Khoo said: "She shared with me that she dared not tell her relatives she has given birth as she was afraid they would laugh at her or call her selfish for giving birth at such a late age." source: straits times premium article congrats to the lady.. with medical advancements these-days,never say never.but personal health comes first regardless.