Knighton Matt Posted 8 July 2006 Posted 8 July 2006 I'd be interested to hear people's opinions on this. Full story below from the BBC. A 62-year-old child psychiatrist has become the oldest woman in Britain to have a baby.Patricia Rashbrook of Lewes, East Sussex, and her 6lb 10oz boy, nicknamed JJ, were said to be doing well by her husband John Farrant, 60. Critics said it was selfish to have a baby at their age, but they said they were confident of meeting his needs. They travelled to the former Soviet Union to get fertility treatment from Italian doctor Severino Antinori. Dr Rashbrook already has three grown-up children - aged 26, 22 and 18 - from her first marriage, but her husband has become a father for the first time. JJ was conceived through IVF using a donor egg and was the result of the couple's fifth and final attempt at the process, which cost £10,000. What is important in parenting is not how old you are, but whether you are meeting all the child's needs and we are very confident about doing that Dr Patricia Rashbrook Dr Peter Bowens Simkins, clinical director of the Cromwell IVF and Fertility Centre, in Swansea, said he and others in his profession considered the birth unacceptable. "I don't think that it is a responsible decision on her part and I don't think it is in the best interests of the child to have a mother who, when he or she is taking say GCSEs, the mother is going to be in her late 70s," he said. "As long as people have the freedom and movement there's nothing one can do to stop that, but in this country I think it's highly unlikely that we'll see it happening for many years." But Dr Rashbrook told the Daily Mail she felt "it was the right thing to do" and she did not feel too old to have a baby. She said: "We would not have gone ahead if we'd felt we would not be good enough parents. "We are both extremely healthy and I have always looked and felt very young, but nevertheless we have younger friends with children who have agreed to act as surrogate parents should anything happen to us. "What is important in parenting is not how old you are, but whether you are meeting all the child's needs and we are very confident about doing that." Mr Farrant said the couple had received more than 200 letters, cards and e-mails of goodwill from members of the public and only one, unsigned letter that was "negative in tone". Speaking on the steps of the couple's four-storey townhouse on Saturday he said: "I'm happy, we are happy." Dressed in shorts, sandals and a T-shirt, he said his wife and JJ had no immediate plans to leave the house. Dr Rashbrook described the birth as "absolutely wonderful" "He's had enough excitement in the last couple of days," he said. The couple said the baby had been nicknamed JJ early in the pregnancy, but were yet to decide what his full name would be. Dr Rashbrook described her son, who was delivered by Caesarean section at Sussex County Hospital, in Brighton, on Wednesday, as "adorable", adding: "Having been through so much to have him, we are overjoyed. "His birth was absolutely wonderful and deeply moving for both of us." The couple said the baby had been nicknamed JJ early on in the pregnancy, but are yet to decide what his full name will be. Dr Rashbrook is not the first woman in her 60s to become a new mother. Liz Buttle, from Wales, was 60 years old when she gave birth to a son, Joseph, in 1997. The oldest woman in the world to give birth is thought to be Adriana Iliescu, from Romania, who had a daughter called Eliza Maria in January last year at the age of 66.
stez Posted 8 July 2006 Posted 8 July 2006 I'd be interested to hear people's opinions on this. are we talking for a geezer or a chick?
Cobbo Posted 8 July 2006 Posted 8 July 2006 Be a bit weird on your 21st birthday if one of your folks is 83/84
Knighton Matt Posted 8 July 2006 Author Posted 8 July 2006 are we talking for a geezer or a chick? Well this case in particular involved a woman of 62 so that's the issue I was bringing up. For the sake of the poll I am assuming the parents are of similar ages which again was the case here.
bigneville Posted 8 July 2006 Posted 8 July 2006 She could wear a bag over her head!!!! But her tits will probably still be touching the floor...
davieG Posted 8 July 2006 Posted 8 July 2006 I'm all for helping young people through IVF to have a family but to use IVF at 62 involving donor eggs, so that it's not even her child is I believe wrong. This wouldn't have happened if they hadn't got £10,000 to experiment with. However I'm not one to assume that my view is everyone elses view, I certainly wouldn't get involved/support this sort of thing at this age personally. Mind you I'm not sure either what age I would draw the line at.
macbeth Posted 8 July 2006 Posted 8 July 2006 one of the greatest problems that has to be dealt with over the next couple of generations is overpopulation; i think there are already enough births and that no-one should consider having children a human right..if nature has decided an age that is too old leave it at that
Cobbo Posted 8 July 2006 Posted 8 July 2006 You'd have to go through a bit of a dry patch to gerrum up the duff n all.
macbeth Posted 8 July 2006 Posted 8 July 2006 You'd have to go through a bit of a dry patch to gerrum up the duff n all. thats a bit technical ........are you a gyaenocologist
Jay Posted 8 July 2006 Posted 8 July 2006 personally I think it's a pretty selfish thing to do you have to think of the kid by the time he is 16 his parents will be almost 80 and chances are he will have to look after them
Knighton Matt Posted 8 July 2006 Author Posted 8 July 2006 personally I think it's a pretty selfish thing to do you have to think of the kid by the time he is 16 his parents will be almost 80 and chances are he will have to look after them That echoes my thoughts Jay but didn't want to air them early on as didn't want to sway opinion. When the kid is 21 his mum will be 83 it just seems madness!
Guest Posted 8 July 2006 Posted 8 July 2006 I think the fact she was unable to conceive naturally says it all. I'm only glad that the British taxpayer hasn't paid for this - yet.
davieG Posted 8 July 2006 Posted 8 July 2006 I used have a young lad work for me when he was 17 his Dad was 80, he was always having problems at home and ended up beating his Dad up, now i'm not saying this will always be the case but from the many conversations he had with me it was obvious that they were too many generations apart to have any understanding of each others needs.
Guest Posted 8 July 2006 Posted 8 July 2006 It's indicative of the selfishness that breeds in society. I saw the text on Sky News whilst at the gym, and apparently she did it because he'd never had the chance to be a father before. Now I'm sorry, but that just doesn't wash with me. If he was that desperate to become a father, then he could have done so. If he left it too late (ie. trying to find the right woman etc), whilst his intentions might have been noble and all that, there comes a point when you have to say "that's that". I'm sure he wasn't thinking of how he'd cope with a stroppy lad in his late teens when he was pushing 80, and if he was then he must have thought "if I can't cope then someone else will". Either that or he really hasn't got a clue, and that doesn't bode well. Selfish idiots.
macbeth Posted 8 July 2006 Posted 8 July 2006 i think we're all pretty much in agreement...........selfish and stupid
Steven Posted 8 July 2006 Posted 8 July 2006 It's indicative of the selfishness that breeds in society. I saw the text on Sky News whilst at the gym, and apparently she did it because he'd never had the chance to be a father before. Now I'm sorry, but that just doesn't wash with me. If he was that desperate to become a father, then he could have done so. If he left it too late (ie. trying to find the right woman etc), whilst his intentions might have been noble and all that, there comes a point when you have to say "that's that". I'm sure he wasn't thinking of how he'd cope with a stroppy lad in his late teens when he was pushing 80, and if he was then he must have thought "if I can't cope then someone else will". Either that or he really hasn't got a clue, and that doesn't bode well. Selfish idiots. Having children is always selfish and that is fine.
macbeth Posted 8 July 2006 Posted 8 July 2006 Having children is always selfish and that is fine. robbing banks is selfish ...doesn't make it ok
Nationwider Posted 8 July 2006 Posted 8 July 2006 It says it all when she's had to go to some back-street Italian quack working in Russia, cash in hand, in order to conceive. "Mummy, before I help you onto the stairlift so we can go and see Daddy in the home, remind me how I was born again..." Just plain silly.
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