A 65-year-old Berlin woman who already has 13
children is pregnant again with quadruplets,
Germany's RTL broadcaster reported Sunday.
The Russian and English teacher's pregnancy
follows several attempts abroad at artificial
insemination over the last year-and-a-half,
according to the private TV channel.
The woman, Annegret Raunigk, decided to try to
have another child because her youngest
daughter, who is nine, wanted a little brother or
sister, the channel said on its website.
It said it would broadcast an interview with the
expectant mother, who has seven grandchildren,
on Monday evening and plans to track her
through the pregnancy and afterwards.
It said the pregnancy had so far been without
any major complications and that if everything
went well, the babies were due in the summer
and that Raunigk would be the world's oldest
mother of quadruplets.
Mass circulation newspaper Bild am Sonntag
reported the four-baby pregnancy on its front-
page, quoting the prospective mother-of-17,
whose oldest daughter is reportedly 44, recalling
the moment doctors broke the news.
"Certainly that was a shock for me.
"After the doctor discovered there were four, I
had to give it some thought to begin with.
"On the scan it was just clear to see," Bild
quoted her as saying, adding however she had
not considered it an option to reduce the number
of embryos.
At a time when other women her age are
preparing to slow down and take things easier,
Raunigk indicated she had no reservations about
the challenges ahead.
"I'm not actually afraid. I simply assume I'll
remain healthy and fit. In matters of
organisation I have enough experience, that's not
new for me," she said.
Asked about moral doubts, RTL quoted her as
asking: "How does one have to be at 65? One
must apparently always fit some cliches which I
find rather tiring.
"I think, one must decide that for oneself."
Her gynaecologist, Kai Hertwig, was quoted on
the RTL website ahead of Monday's broadcast as saying that quadruple
pregnancies were always a strain but that everything was currently
going well.
The biggest risk for the babies is being born
prematurely and doctors are doing all they can
to prevent that, the gynaecologist added.
Raunigk made headlines 10 years ago too, when
she gave birth to her 13th child, Lelia, at the age
of 55.
"At first, I only wanted one child," Bild quoted her
as saying at the time. "Not all were planned. But
then things happen. I'm not a planner but rather
spontaneous. And children keep me young." culled
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