guardian - France: Woman, 59, is oldest mother of triplets

A woman in France has become the oldest known mother of triplets after giving birth at 59, reigniting the debate about late pregnancy and so-called fertility tourism.
The woman, whose identity has not been disclosed, is of Asian origin and had fertility treatment in Vietnam. She gave birth by caesarean section at the weekend, the Cochin maternity hospital in Paris said yesterday. The triplets, two boys and a girl who weighed 2.3kg (5.1lb), 2.1kg and 2.4kg, were described as being in good health.
But fertility experts said it could not be taken as proof of the success of late pregnancies. It is illegal for French IVF clinics to treat women deemed too old to reproduce naturally. The age limit is generally 42, and the number of embryos used is limited to lessen the risk of multiple births.
"[Fertility laws] are there to treat infertility," Professor François Thépot, medical director of France's Biomedicine Agency, told Agence France-Presse. "We do not want to turn them into a new means of procreation for people who would like to have children out of the natural context."
The trend for women to seek IVF treatment in countries with less stringent regulations - dubbed fertility tourism - has prompted concern from specialists. A woman of 44 who had IVF in Greece against the advice of her French doctors has been in a coma since June after giving birth to healthy triplets in Angers.
"The complications are manageable until about 42, 43 years old," said Professor René Frydman, the doctor behind France's first test tube baby, in 1982. "But after that you're going into the danger zone, in particular around 60. The heart just isn't made for it,"
The previous oldest mother of triplets is thought to be an unidentified Italian woman of 57.

dailyrecord - Mum blasts bus company after being told baby triplets can't ride for free

A MUM who was told she must pay to take one of her baby triplets on a bus has accused bosses of discrimination.
Carolyn Armstrong says she was "outraged" when drivers told her only two children under five could travel free.
They refused to back down even though the family do not use a single seat and Carolyn already pays for six-year-old son Euan.
Full-time mum Carolyn, 43, parks her double buggy in the wheelchair bay at the front of the bus and stands with the third triplet in a carrier on her back.
She gets off the bus if a wheelchair user requires the space.
But she says the only reply she has received to her complaints from Lothian Buses - in which Edinburgh City Council are the major shareholders - has been a copy of their policy.
Most other firms, including First Bus, say drivers are encouraged to use discretion when it comes to babies. They say mothers need not pay unless the children are occupying seats.
Former British Airways purser Carolyn, from Corstorphine, Edinburgh, said her husband Ricky, 49, a finance manager for Alliance Boots Pharmacies, often works away.
That leaves her to cope with 21-month-old triplets Ben, Laura and Grace and Euan alone.
She said: "I have always used the bus to get into the city centre - the number 26. But when I took the triplets I was shocked to be asked to pay extra money.
"I pay for Euan. If my babies were walking about and sitting on seats then I would have no problem paying for them too.
"But two stay in the double buggy while I have the other baby in a backpack on my back while I stand. They don't charge if you have a rucksack on your back.
"It is hard enough being in charge of triplet babies and I find myself limited in what I can do and where we can go now.
"I've written to Lothian Buses on several occasions but they just quote their policy. Some of the drivers have been quite rude."
She added that the firm's policy was "blatant discrimination".
A spokesman for Lothian Buses said: "Our conditions clearly state two children under the age of five can travel free with every full farepaying passenger. Additional children pay the child fare of 60p."
A spokeswoman for the Twins and Multiple Births Association said: "This is shocking. It is difficult enough to get out when you have twins, triplets or more in the first place."

irishhealth - Caesarean mums not as responsive to crying

Mothers who give birth vaginally are more responsive to the cries of their baby compared to mothers who have a Caesarean section, the results of a new study indicate.The number of women undergoing Caesarean sections in Ireland has been rising steadily in recent years. According to the latest figures available, one in four births (25%) in Irish hospitals are now by Caesarean, compared to just 12% in 1992.Researchers at Yale University in the US carried out MRI scans on women up to four weeks after giving birth. They found that mothers who had given birth vaginally were significantly more sensitive to their own baby’s crying. This was noted in the scans in the regions of the brain that are believed to regulate emotions, motivation and habitual behaviours.According to the researchers, the capacity of adults to develop the thoughts and behaviours needed for parents to care successfully for their newborn infants is supported by specific brain circuits and a range of hormones.They noted that a vaginal birth involves the release of oxytocin, a key hormone linked with maternal behaviour, while a Caesarean section does not.“We wondered which brain areas would be less active in parents who delivered by Caesarean section, given that this mode of delivery has been associated with decreased maternal behaviours in animal models and a trend for increased postnatal depression in humans,” explained lead author, Dr James Swain.He said that their results support the theory that variations in delivery conditions, such as with a Caesarean section, ‘alter the neurohormonal experiences of childbirth and might decrease the responsiveness of the human maternal brain in the early postpartum’.

Daily Mail - Fergie: Manchester United's new Brazilian twins have a bright future at Old Trafford

Sir Alex Ferguson believes his new Brazilian twins will have a bright future at Manchester United.
Right-back Rafael Da Silva played in the whole of United's friendly win at Peterborough on Monday.
And his twin Fabio played 45 minutes, replacing Patrice Evra on the other side of United's defence.
Ferguson said: 'The young players were fantastic and young Rafael the right-back was a sensation for me.
'I thought it was a real eye opener for us. He hadn't played for a year but he's played a full 90 minutes.
'His brother Fabio has played 45 minutes and he's also done well so we're really pleased by their contribution.
Asked whether Rafael could be on the way to a place in the first team, Ferguson said: 'You know what football's like. Sometimes it turns up some star, some little nugget maybe.
'I think we have got a good player here.'

BBC - Septuplet joy for Egyptian couple

An Egyptian woman has given birth to seven babies in the northern city of Alexandria, doctors said.
The mother, named as 27-year-old Ghazala Khamis, is said to be well and the septuplets - four boys and three girls - are reported to be stable.
The babies are said to weigh between 1.45 and 2.8kg (3-6lb); the couple already have three girls.
They sought fertility treatment hoping to have a boy, and were said to be astonished at the multiple pregnancy.
Since the introduction of in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment 30 years ago, the number of multiple births has increased dramatically.
Health experts say septuplets are very rare, and it is even less common for all to survive.
The seven were delivered by Caesarean section a month early, and all have been placed in incubators designed for premature babies.
The woman's brother said that the Egyptian health minister had promised free milk and nappies for the babies for two years, to help the family cope.

Reuters - Rare sextuplets born in Iraq, four survive

NASSIRIYA, Iraq (Reuters) - A woman has given birth to rare sextuplets in southern Iraq, but two of them died because the hospital lacked the proper equipment to keep them alive, her doctor said on Saturday.
Some Iraqi media described it as the first birth of sextuplets -- six children born at once -- in the country, although this could not be verified.
Sextuplet births are extremely rare although fertility treatments have increased the frequency of multiple births.
"Two of the children died because of problems breathing," said Dr Ali al-Jabiri, in charge of premature infants at Al-Habboubi Hospital in the southern Iraqi city of Nassiriya.
"If we had suitable medical equipment then we could have saved them," he added.
The babies all weighed between 700 and 1,200 grams (24-44 ounces). Two boys and two girls survived. Their mother had used fertility drugs.
"The problem is, how can I take care of them? How to feed them?" said their mother, Ibtisam Najim Abid, at the hospital.