World's Oldest New Mom - Maria del Carmen Bousada

[amaranthaseven]

I did a quick search for her but didn't see her. If I duplicated a thread, my apologies! As much as I really think a woman's decision to have children should be hers, I personally think it was deeply irresponsible to have children at 66, particularly as a single parent. I know plenty of women who were dealt the single parent hand and have done a beautiful job, but I think volunteering for it at 66, with all the things that could go wrong...not smart. Again, my opinion. Anyway, here's the Yahoo article on her death:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090715/...ain_oldest_mom

Any thoughts? Keep it civil, though, folks.

[Hagitha]

I think it's sad but to have a baby at that age is not being responsible UNLESS you are quite wealthy and/or have a strong support group that can take care of your child should something happen to you. I'm in my mid-forties now and think it's way too late for me so I can't understand having a child at 66...

[My_Smiling_Skull]

I think it's sad but to have a baby at that age is not being responsible UNLESS you are quite wealthy and/or have a strong support group that can take care of your child should something happen to you.

I totally agree....

[Nicksmorbidfascination]

no opinions...its just sad

[herekittykitty]

Regardless of the circumstances surrounding her decision to have the children, her case will remain a reference point in ongoing research on pregnancy, in-vitro fertilization, and childbirth. In the larger sense, her case contributes to medical science.

Who knows? If more people, encouraged by this woman's case, try this, in 30 years from now we might be having an entirely different discussion on this issue.

[Karma]

Sad for the babies because they won't remember their mom.

[dstrattenfan]

MADRID -- A Spanish woman believed to have become the world's oldest new mother when she gave birth at 66 has died at 69, leaving behind twin toddlers, newspapers reported Tuesday.

Maria del Carmen Bousada, who reportedly died Saturday, gave birth in December 2006 as a single mother after getting in vitro fertilization treatment at a clinic in Los Angeles.

The births ignited a firestorm of debate over how old is too old for a new mother, and how much responsibility fertility clinics have over who gets treatments.

Bousada told an interviewer she lied to the fertility clinic about her age, and maintained that because her mother had lived to be 101, she had a good chance of living long enough to raise a child.

Bousada's death was reported by the newspaper El Mundo and Diario de Cadiz. Cadiz is the southern province where Bousada lived her whole life.

Diario de Cadiz quoted her brother, Ricardo Bousada, as confirming her death but refusing to disclose the cause. The newspaper said she had been diagnosed with a tumor shortly after giving birth.

The Barcelona-based newspaper El Periodico de Catalunya quoted Ricardo Bousada as saying he sold the exclusive on his sister's death to an unidentified television program and that the proceeds would go to looking after his sister's twins.

The newspaper quoted him as saying that it had been "very difficult. Lately, she had been really bad." He could give no further details because of the arrangement, the newspaper reported.

The Associated Press was not immediately able to reach the brother for comment.

There was no word on who would raise the children, named Pau and Christian. Bousada had once said she would look for a younger man to help her raise them.

In January 2007, she told the British tabloid News of the World that she sold her house to raise $59,000 to pay for the in vitro fertilization.

"I think everyone should become a mother at the right time for them," Bousada said in a video of the interview provided to Associated Press Television News.

"Often circumstances put you between a rock and a hard place, and maybe things shouldn't have been done in the way they were done, but that was the only way to achieve the thing I had always dreamed of, and I did it," she said.

The retired department store employee said she told the Pacific Fertility Center that she was 55 -- the clinic's cut-off for treating single women. She said the clinic did not ask her for identification.

Bousada lived with her mother most of her life in Cadiz. She hatched her plan to have children after her mother died in 2005, she said, initially keeping her plan secret from her family. When she finally told them she was two months pregnant, they thought she was joking.

"Yes, I am old of course, but if I live as long as my mom did, imagine, I could even have grandchildren," she said in the video.

[RubySlippers]

already a thread.

[dstrattenfan]

Damn it

[Maruz83]

Sad but times change..... Hey me & my husband are 26 and don't even plan on having kids will we're in our mid-30's...........

[RubySlippers]

the first of many, unfortunately. crazy bitches.

[Dollyplum]

Sad to hear of children losing their mummy, poor mites. As for her, I think it was purely irresponsible to have a child at that age and the same for the Drs who were her enablers. shame on them. When Mother Nature says you are too old to have children you should heed her warning. YOUR TOO OLD, GET OVER IT. I had my first and last child at 33. I am now 38 and i say I am too old for another. I am just thankful I was blessed with one healthy child and I am young enough to have a fighting chance of being here for him.

[Guest]

It was foolish to have children at that age! I intend to avoid having any...ever!! Don't like them!

[ZoeAnne]

It was foolish to have children at that age! I intend to avoid having any...ever!! Don't like them!

I like them......when you can send them home to their moms......

[Littleroben]

Firstly I think it's really sad and I hope that there's someone out there who will adopt the children and bring them up in a lovely family. Secondly I think the doctors should give long careful thought to what they did and rethink their rules.

[findadeathaddict]

Poor kids, RIP mom.

[amaranthaseven]

I think it's telling that she deliberately lied to the fertility doctors and told them she was 55 (the cutoff age for the clinic). Then, they never asked for any documentation?! I assume she needed a passport to get to L.A. I assume that had her correct age on it. If the clinic never asked her for i.d. then clearly they were more interested in having a "customer" than upholding their own policies. With the horror story of "Octo Mom" in my mind, I'm beginning to see the not-so-ethical side of fertility clinics. I understand they need to do all they can for their patients, but some things just cross the line of good judgement.

[atomicbettie]

What a ridiculous woman.

[TheMysterian]

It is sad,but she knew anything was possible at her age,even death! I hope the kids are well taken care of.

[radiojane]

I'm sorry, but it's irresponsible to have a child you may not be around to raise. Before someone points it out, yes, it's possible to have a child and get struck by a bus at a younger age, but 70 year olds were never meant to be parenting 10 year olds. This isn't a scientific advance that makes much sense in my opinion. I'd set the cutoff at no older than 45.

[sfcitygirl]

I feel sorry for her children, but I can't muster up any sympathy for her. I think she was unbelievably selfish and I think that it is unethical to preform fertility treatments on people that age. Just because science exists doesn't mean we should always use it.

[Nelliebean]

I like them......when you can send them home to their moms......

Me too. It's called "Rent a Kid".

[RubySlippers]

i wonder how long she new she was ill. uhg. terrible.

[Dixie Girl]

That fertility doctor is seriously at fault. As a doctor, it was his job to make certain that her medical charts would be faxed to him long before he ever began the procedure--in that way he can access any potential allergic reactions, previous medical history, potential drug interactions, etc. And on the top of EVERY page of a medical history is a patient birthdate.

[cleanskull]

At that age prolly not much labor. Just sorta fell out.

[1karenhb]

I'm sorry, but it's irresponsible to have a child you may not be around to raise. Before someone points it out, yes, it's possible to have a child and get struck by a bus at a younger age, but 70 year olds were never meant to be parenting 10 year olds. This isn't a scientific advance that makes much sense in my opinion. I'd set the cutoff at no older than 45.

I totally agree with you!

[lh211]

At that age prolly not much labor. Just sorta fell out.

I think it's wrong and she was a selfish person.

She thought she was going to live to over 100 like her mother, but that's not always how it works. I'd be interested to know cause of death.

[Lita]

Sad to hear of children losing their mummy, poor mites. As for her, I think it was purely irresponsible to have a child at that age and the same for the Drs who were her enablers. shame on them. When Mother Nature says you are too old to have children you should heed her warning. YOUR TOO OLD, GET OVER IT. I had my first and last child at 33. I am now 38 and i say I am too old for another. I am just thankful I was blessed with one healthy child and I am young enough to have a fighting chance of being here for him.

The doctors didn't enable her at all. She lied to them and changed documents so that it would appear she was 55.

That fertility doctor is seriously at fault. As a doctor, it was his job to make certain that her medical charts would be faxed to him long before he ever began the procedure--in that way he can access any potential allergic reactions, previous medical history, potential drug interactions, etc. And on the top of EVERY page of a medical history is a patient birthdate.

I wonder if they do it that way in Spain too. It didn't specify which documents she fudged the dates on. Maybe it was insurance or something? It had to look legit with all of the identity theft going on. In the picture of her in the article she looks like she pass for 50-55. I agree that when you're working with a middle aged woman who wants to give birth, you should really check carefully. I just feel for those kids.

[silverwaif77]

Someone here already mentioned Octo-mom. Most fertility treatments, and most plastic surgery procedures are not covered by insurance. There is a lot less regulation to it (since the insurance companies aren't there to say no). It is all out of pocket. Basically if you can afford it, a doctor will do it (depending on their ethics). I don't think I have ever been asked for my ID or birth certificate at a Doctors office.

[Dollyplum]

[quote=Lita;859042]The doctors didn't enable her at all. She lied to them and changed documents so that it would appear she was 55.

I believe that they did enable her by not checking her out properly age wise - passport, medical insurance etc etc. Afterall she was a European in your country? I find a little hard to believe that individuals can travel to LA, lie about there age, pay for treatment (everything has a price it seems) and walk way. Checking out her age on such an area is important when they have already sitipulated a maximum age, if not why have it? What next 14 years old having boob jobs cause they look 18? They have to take responsibility in this roman tradegy as much as she does. Shameless.

[Flowergrrl]

I believe that they did enable her by not checking her out properly age wise - passport, medical insurance etc etc. Afterall she was a European in your country? I find a little hard to believe that individuals can travel to LA, lie about there age, pay for treatment (everything has a price it seems) and walk way. Checking out her age on such an area is important when they have already sitipulated a maximum age, if not why have it? What next 14 years old having boob jobs cause they look 18? They have to take responsibility in this roman tradegy as much as she does. Shameless.

She's already been brought up but, remember about Octotwat. She was jobless, had six kids already, lived with her parents... And, they did it for her.

[stacebabe]

There is no replacement for a mother - money or no money. Believe me. I have GREAT family, and a GREAT support system, but I don't have my mother, and this coming Sunday it will be 17 years since I had a mother.

I think this woman was a selfish bitch.

I think it's sad but to have a baby at that age is not being responsible UNLESS you are quite wealthy and/or have a strong support group that can take care of your child should something happen to you. I'm in my mid-forties now and think it's way too late for me so I can't understand having a child at 66...

[Dying Breath]

From the title of thread I thought maybe she choked to death.

[Vamp]

Pure selfishness, I think.

[KCBee]

Getting hung up on her age and calling her selfish is a bit cruel. Even if she was 24 when she had her children, there was no guarantee she would live to see their 18th birthdays.

Children from single parent homes are orphaned everyday when their young mothers unexpectedly die. I think she was a very brave woman to go after her life long dream of being a mother. She dedicated her life to her ailing mother, and when that responsibility was fulfilled, she decided to focus on her self.

It's not like she died of old age. She died of cancer. She was presumably healthy when she brought her children in the world. She had no reason to believe she would develop stomach cancer.

[Lita]

[quote=Dollyplum;859921]

The doctors didn't enable her at all. She lied to them and changed documents so that it would appear she was 55.

I believe that they did enable her by not checking her out properly age wise - passport, medical insurance etc etc. Afterall she was a European in your country? I find a little hard to believe that individuals can travel to LA, lie about there age, pay for treatment (everything has a price it seems) and walk way. Checking out her age on such an area is important when they have already sitipulated a maximum age, if not why have it? What next 14 years old having boob jobs cause they look 18? They have to take responsibility in this roman tradegy as much as she does. Shameless.

If they pay enough, unfortunately.