Berlin - A 65-year-old German woman,
who already has 13 children, has given
birth to quadruplets after undergoing an
artificial insemination procedure in the
Ukraine, RTL television reported early on
Saturday.
Annegret Raunigk had three boys, named
Dries, Bence and Fjonn, and one girl, Neeta,
who were born premature at 26 weeks in
a Berlin hospital, but have "good chances
of surviving," according to RTL.
"However, the babies, in comparison with
a normal birth in the 40th week, are not
completely developed, so eventual
complications can't be ruled out," said the
report.
Their mother lives in Berlin and is an
English and Russian teacher who is close
to retirement. In addition to her children,
she is grandmother to seven.
RTL said the new arrivals make her the
world's oldest mother of quadruplets.
She became pregnant after undergoing
several artificial insemination procedures
in Ukraine, said RTL.
The channel has negotiated exclusive
rights to the story and has followed the
build-up to the births, although it says no
filming was done in the hospital where
the babies were born.
Raunigk made headlines in April when the
German press first reported that her latest
artificial insemination attempt had
resulted in a quadruple pregnancy.
At the time, she said she decided to try to
have another child because her youngest
daughter, who is nine, wanted a little
brother or sister, according to RTL.
Oldest daughter is 44
The Bild am Sonntag tabloid quoted
Raunigk, whose oldest daughter is 44,
recalling that it was "a shock" when the
doctors first broke the news to her that
she was expecting quadruplets.
"After the doctor discovered there were
four, I had to give it some thought to
begin with."
But she did not consider reducing the
number of embryos and said she had no
reservations about the challenge facing
her.
"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 was quoted as
saying in Bild.
Asked about moral doubts, RTL quoted her
as asking: "How does one have to be at
65? One must apparently always fit some
clichés which I find rather tiring.
"I think, one must decide that for oneself."
Raunigk made headlines 10 years ago too,
when she gave birth to her 13th child,
Lelia, at the age of 55.
That pregnancy was also the subject of an
exclusive coverage deal with RTL, and Bild.
"At first, I only wanted one child," the
tabloid 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."
During an interview in April, Raunigk
dismissed critics who said she was acting
irresponsibly because she would be more
than 70 years old when the quadruplets
entered school.
"You can never know what will happen.
Things can also happen to you when
you're 20," she said, adding that it's up to
each individual to decide when they
become a parent.
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