Spanish doctor gives birth to her third child at the age of 62 – despite experts telling her fertility treatment wouldn’t work
Lina Alvarez's daughter was delivered by caesarean section on Monday
A 62-YEAR-old Spanish doctor who announced she was eight months pregnant last month has given birth to a healthy girl.
Lina Alvarez’s daughter - who has also been named Lina - was delivered by C-section on Monday morning after her mum suffered high blood pressure.
The proud mum, who lives in Lugo, north west Spain, admitted after becoming a mum for the third time: “I’m the happiest person on the planet. Everything went perfectly.”
The new arrival, born two weeks early at Lucas Augusti Hospital in Lugo, weighed 5.2lbs.
Lina's eldest son Exiquio, 28, who is disabled after a medical error left him injured during her pregnancy, has already met his baby sister.
And the mum-of-three, who also has a 10-year-son called Samuel, told a local paper: “I’m looking forward to resting for at least a couple of days now so I can enjoy time with my daughter and recover.
“My emotions have got the better of me and I’ve been crying a lot out of happiness.”
Her pregnancy caused heated debate in her native Galicia and prompted calls for a limit on the age at which women can obtain fertility treatment.
Ms Alvarez had her second child 10 years after her menopause at the age of 52, thanks to IVF treatment.
She ended up having to travel to Madrid to see a gynaecologist after many clinics refused to help her because of her age when she decided she wanted a third baby.
“Then some years ago I met a gynaecologist who agreed to help me if the tests were okay. They were positive and so he helped me to implant an embryo.
“They said there was only a six per cent chance of success but I got pregnant with a baby girl. I feel like I’m having a second chance and the pregnancy has made me younger and stronger.”
The world’s oldest documented mother is Daljinder Kaur from India, who gave birth last year at the age of 70 after two years of IVF treatment. Baby Armaan was born weighing 4.4lbs.