A grandma has given birth to triplets !!

The difference between a man fathering children when he is older is that he can because he doesn't have to carry them in his body for nine months. There is a reason for the menopause - it's a safety device for mothers! Growing a baby is one of the most dangerous things women actually do (even it if it a natural thing) and there is FAR more risk attached to it as women get older. If she had conceived naturally it would have been one thing but to have IVF and give birth to triplets is just asking for trouble.

The babies are quite small. I hope they are in good health.

It'd be hard enough work now at 55 but three 10 year old at 65 ...NO I just know I wouldn't be up to it. I had three for four days recently and I'm still trying to recover and I'm only 63. I hope she has the money for a nanny/ housekeeper

What's done is done.

Welcome to the world triplets

Jayh and Anya nice sentiments
However as an ex midwife and granny aged 55 I disagree with a woman of 55 travelling abroad for ivf which cannot be bought in this country. A multiple pregnancy carries greater risks for mum and babies and her age increases the risks. I understand all are well (good, I'm pleased) but mum has put her body under a massive strain and long term effects are yet to be realised. I hope she copes with the teenage years and lives long enough to see that time as a memory to smile about.....teenagers have a tough time and so do their parents generally. I also wish them all well and hope the babies bring her much joy.

Totally mad IMO.

There is a world of difference between having babies naturally at 45 and having IVF triplets at 55. Nature knows best and frankly having 3 babies at that age is IMO madness. People (and I include men here) don't have the same energy. And oh my goodness imagine dealing with 3 stroppy teenagers in your 70s ? I found it hard enough in my 40s!!

Wasn't there a case of a Russian woman having a baby at 65? Why on earth would anyone choose to go through that?

My idea of a nightmare I'm afraid!
The thought of 15 year olds when you're 70 [shudders]

I'm looking after delightful DGS this week and it's exhausting (but great fun!), he's up at 6 and on the go to 7.30 in the evening ???

At the moment lots of Grandparents are "bringing up children " due to parents going back to work ..... so why the fuss ? My BIL hardly saw his Mum when he was a chisler ..... now he is 60+ with cancer and is running about like the proverbial b... a.... fly taking her here there and everywhere because , at 80 , she has decided he is her fav and won't let he daughters take her for appointments . He is delighted to finally get to know her ! You could say that is late Motherhood !!

Why can't we have a 'like' to click on, on here? ...... I keep trying to like people's comments and then remember, I can't.

What a thought going through the menopause and running around after three toddlers then even worse three teenagers when approaching your seventies I feel sorry for the children too my mother was 42 when she had me by the time I reached my thirties both my parents had passed away.

I have a friend who adopted a 1YR old when she was fifty. Her DH was 52 I have never seen anyone look so tired and she hadnt actually been pregnant either.Child is now 18 and at Uni .I think she does worry about dying when child is relatively young ,but otherwise its been fine .However money is not an issue, which helps
I do think the cliche is true Children do 'keep you young'I had DD2 at nearly 40 and everyone thinks I must be much younger than my now 65 .My DCs forget I'm actually quite old and expect me to keep up when walking etc Have just worked very hard for over a week helping DD1 with a house move
I assume they wouldnt have done the IVF if she wasnt in reasonable health .....

At 62 I've just (with my husband) come back from a week's holiday with our 3 and 6 year old grandsons. For the first two nights after we got home my poor husband, who's ten years younger than I am, went to bed before 9pm - we were both really tired out. The boys are well behaved and no trouble, but exuberant and typical of their ages. If pregnancy happens naturally in later years then so be it, but to choose the IVF route at such a late age is to possibly invite problems. Older people can, and do, often make very good, patient parents, but it may come at a great cost for both parents and children.

Good luck to her I say.....must be mad. Hope her partner is supportive.

I had two more children when I was 42 and 45. They were bonuses.

I had both my children in my mid 30s and was always aware of being an older mum - though it's not so uncommon now - and I was less able to run around with physical play than the younger mums. My husband was younger and did a lot of the active stuff at weekends while I mostly watched as they clambered over adventure playgrounds and slid down vertical drop slides! Unfortunately we split up when they were teenagers and that was tough becoming a single mum in my 50s. I had wanted a third child but after a few miscarriages decided when I reached 40 that was time to stop trying. In retrospect that was probably for the best and I certainly wouldn't have wanted to become a new mum in my 50s, naturally or otherwise. I was worried about being mistaken for their grandparent and I think it is really unfair for the children. Someone on here said 'selfish woman' and I agree!

My Dad was 65 when I was born and I couldn't have asked for a better dad

I too would like...a like button

It is a very selfish thing to do, all about her, has she given any thought to how those children will cope. To have triplets is challenging at any age and requires a lot of stamina, but at that age silly. Hope our already stretched NHS hasn't funded IVF. Think Ronnie Wood becoming a father at 68 too old as well. If nature decides you can have a baby in your 40's so be it. Surely there should be a cut off point, preferably sone time before you collect a pension.

agreed luckylegs

I think you'll find they haven't been funded from your taxes LL9

My sister had two children 14 months apart at 41 and 42 She says the first two years were just a fog and remembers very little, and now she says the mood in the house with menopausal and teenage hormones can be "tense" . But they have
( the children) grown up, into the most delightful young people and my little grandchildren just adore them . I had my kids fairly young - 25 and 29 and as my sis is 8 years younger, I am more like the granny than auntie .

Apparently she and her husband paid for the IVF with a bank loan but the eleven weeks in hospital was on the NHS which is struggling to provide essential treatment for people who are ill.

I had my son naturally at 47 and it was pretty hard going when he was small as I approached the menopause.
Lovely now that he's 25, he makes me laugh all the time so wouldn't change a thing.
Worst years were the toddler and teenage ones but that's always the way.

Why on earth would a 55 year old woman with a grown up family want to put herself through bringing up another 3? I can maybe understand women that have not been blessed with a family at all but IMHO IVF should only be available t to the under 50's. Surely there has to be a limit!

As a mum of twins(Ivf) and triplets(natural) I know she's going to find it hard, but ultimately rewarding. I haven't read the article yet, but it is worth bearing in mind that that she probably didn't go into it with the aim of a mulitiple birth. I expect she probably just wanted the one baby, like most of us do, and multiple embryos were implanted to increase the chances of a successful outcome.
I didn't expect my 2 embryos to survive - the odds of getting any success at all is so ridiculously low. Wasn't particularly pleased to discover that I'd have to deal with twins!
What do people think she was supposed to do when she found out that she was expecting not the one baby but 3? I was terrified when I found out that I had triplets on the way, but certainly would not have considered a selective abortion - how would you choose which one, and what if the entire pregnancy then failed? She really had no choice, and I know that I would be devastated by some of the comments I've heard and seen about her 'stupidity' in having triplets at her age. There would have been next to no comment if she'd had just the one baby.