Canadian gives birth to twins at 60
Ranjit Hayer is 60 years old and is one of the oldest women to give birth, definitely among the oldest in Canada, and certainly as a mom of twins, according the CBC Canada. After several decades of trying to conceive, her patience finally paid off in double dose and delivered twins earlier this week.
Ranjit has been through several miscarriages and even an IVF scam. She and her husband were originally from India.
Ranjit’s case put fuel into the ongoing ethical debate about IVF treatments. In this case, the ground for objection is Ranjit’s advanced age. The cut off age for IVF treatment in Canada is 45 to 50 years old. Because of her disqualification due to her age in Canada, Ranjit went to India to have the IVF procedure done using donor eggs. She was initially pregnant with triplets but lost one embryo. However, she came back to Canada to deliver in Calgary.
With advancing age, pregnancy becomes more difficult and riskier. Ranjit suffered from gestational diabetes and hypertension, as well as placenta previa. She had hemorrhage in her 7th week of gestation and her twins were delivered by emergency C-section. The babies are doing well but one baby needs breathing assistance and the other is in a special neonatal care unit. The mother had severe bleeding that led to the removal of her uterus as well as blood transfusion and a stay in an intensive care unit..
Many critics are objecting to the fact that people like Ranjit are circumventing the cut off age under Canadian law by having IVF outside the country but still the Canadian health care system has to bear the burden of the costs of prenatal complications as well as the postnatal and neonatal care.
Aside from pregnancy complications and the costs, there are also the social, psychological and financial implications of people close to retirement age still having to raise children to adulthood.
The IVF-at-any-age issue is a very difficult and sensitive topic. On the one hand, technology offers people the possibility of fulfilling their wish for children. On the other hand, at what price and how would it affect the children?
What do you think?
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