How old is too old to have a baby?

A question of ethics and in vitro fertilisation (IVF) over 40 was raised earlier this week when a 63-year-old woman gave birth at a Dubai hospital.
The child, a healthy baby girl born to a Sri Lankan couple and the third time mum who underwent treatment India, is no doubt a medical miracle.
But, how old is too old to have a baby?
The birth, the first such recorded for a woman of this age in Dubai, has raised an ongoing debate focusing on questions such as will the current age of the parents and their lower life expectancy affect the ability to raise the child in due time?
Dr David Robertson, group medical director at Bourn Hall Fertility Centre, says: "Ethically, age might affect the ability to raise children appropriately due to reduced life expectancy and poorer health that can come with increasing age."
According to him, many women are delaying a family in order to pursue their own interests and careers in modern times. "Unfortunately, reproductive evolution hasn't caught up with our lifestyle. Carrying a child above the age of 40 can cause several pregnancy risks and genetic abnormalities in the child are much more common."
However, there aren't any laws in the UAE to regulate the age of women to undergo an IVF procedure. "There is no UAE law stipulating a maximum age for IVF. It's up to the different IVF clinics to issue their own clinical protocols taking into consideration the woman's health first," explains Dr David. Countries such as Japan, Israel and many European countries limit the age at which women can receive such treatments.
Dr Jaget Nirmala, specialist, obstetrics and gynaecology at Thumbay Hospitals who oversaw the woman's case, speaks in support. "Women who are healthy enough to have a baby in their later years shouldn't be scared to do so.
"One should let nature decide. Childbearing at 63 years of age is extremely rare, but not a record. The patient and the baby have responded well to the treatment at our facility and have been doing well," she said. It is difficult for a woman above the age of 40 to be able to conceive naturally since the quality of eggs drops drastically after 35. Hence, IVF plays a big role in aiding pregnancies in such cases.
So what is the maximum age for an IVF procedure to be carried out? "A woman's age correlates strongly with the success rate of IVF. The younger the woman, the higher the success rate," says Dr David. BournHall sees patients who are aged 45 and below, as the quality of eggs rapidly decreases above 40 years old, he adds.
The procedure itself is not as easy. "If a patient is above 45, it usually means she would need to use donor eggs for the IVF procedure as the quality of her eggs will likely not be suitable to produce viable embryos. The use of an egg donor may not be acceptable to many people and is not permitted in the UAE," says the expert.
Also, delayed pregnancies come with health problems of their own. Ovaries are less able to release eggs, egg quantity and quality decrease, increased risk of health conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure, and increased risk of a miscarriage.
"We recommend that women under the age of 35 see a fertility specialist if they haven't achieved a pregnancy after a year of trying. Women above 35 should wait six months before they see a doctor," adds Dr David.
BournHall has achieved a successful pregnancy in a 47-year-old lady. "But it should be stressed that this is very rare," says Dr David.
asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com
  When she gave birth at 63.
The journey was not an easy one for the 63-year-old third time mum who delivered on February 19 at 7.15am after a year-long IVF treatment.
She was diagnosed with gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia (hypertension during pregnancy) and placenta previa (the condition when a baby's placenta partially or totally covers the opening in the mother's cervix) following her check-ups at the Thumbay Hospital. By the 36th week, she complained of bleeding, and was therefore led to an emergency caesarean section.
Overwhelmed with the joy of welcoming her baby four weeks in advance, the new-mum said: "Despite the complications in the case, special care has been extended to make it a smooth delivery and post-natal care."
The baby weighed 2.3kg at birth and is doing perfectly well.
Last year, the Sri Lankan lady and her Indian husband decided to start a family but they knew they'd have to deal with a few bumps in the road. To overcome the risks associated with late pregnancies, they saw an IVF specialist in Chennai (India) who gave her the go-ahead.
How is IVF done?
A woman is first given ovarian stimulation medications to produce multiple eggs which are then collected under sedation. The IVF procedure is then carried out by experienced embryologists who fertilise the eggs and sperm in a laboratory.
The embryo is grown for 3-5 days and is then transferred to a woman's uterus for implantation. A pregnancy blood test is then taken two weeks after the procedure.
 

• Dubai