She already has 13 children and is due to retire this year – so you’d think babies would be the last thing on her mind.
But Annegret Raunigk is set to become the oldest woman in the world to have quadruplets – at the age of 65.
The German primary school teacher will give birth in a matter of weeks to four babies, conceived following 18 months of fertility treatment.
Miss Raunigk, who features in a documentary on German television tonight, said she was not too worried about the birth, adding: ‘I feel fit. I don’t think I will have any problems.’
She is in her 21st week of pregnancy after being artificially inseminated, using both donated sperm and eggs. The identity of the babies’ father is unknown.
Speaking of the moment she learned she was carrying quadruplets, she said: ‘Sure, it was a shock for me.
‘Once the physician established that there are four babies inside me then I had to do some thinking.’
Miss Raunigk, who teaches English and Russian, said her gynaecologist mentioned the possibility of an abortion but she decided against this option.
The mother, from Berlin, previously made headlines in Germany after giving birth to her youngest daughter Leila a decade ago, aged 55.
Her 13 children – the eldest of whom is daughter Antje, 44 – are by five different fathers.
Miss Raunigk’s physician, Dr Kai Hertwig, said everything was going well. He added: ‘So far her age has not come into play but quadruplet pregnancies are always a high risk. We are keeping a close watch on her heart circulatory system, but we have little or no experience with a woman of this age.’
Miss Raunigk claimed she had no moral qualms about getting pregnant later in life, saying: ‘I think one needs to decide for oneself and not listen too much to the opinions of others.’
The record for the oldest woman to give birth to quadruplets is held by Merryl Fudel from the US, who was 55.
The oldest woman ever to have a child was Omkari Panwar, who was believed to be 70 when she gave birth to twins in India.
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