67-year-old woman gives birth to baby girl in east China. Video / CCTV
A Chinese mother has given birth to a baby at the age of 67 — and now the parents claim they are the oldest couple in the world to conceive naturally.
The mother, named only as Tian, delivered the healthy, 2.56kg baby girl via a C-section on Friday (local time), at Zaozhuang city's Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, CCTV Plus reported
Her husband, 68, was overjoyed by the and said: "The child was bestowed on the two of us by heaven."
The hospital said it could not confirm that Tian had conceived naturally as she was already pregnant when it took her as a patient. Photo / CCTV Plus
According to CCTV Plus, the woman discovered she was pregnant when she went to the hospital for a routine check-up in May.
After finding out, she initially didn't want to have the baby, but then changed her mind, Jinan Times reported.
A team was then put together to ensure the baby was born without any major problems.
"We designed special therapeutic care and contingency plans, pulled together a team consisting of doctors from the internal medicine, surgical, obstetrics, nutritional and other departments to provide round-the-clock monitoring of the pregnant woman," Liu Chengwen, a chief physician with the hospital, told CCTV Plus.
The hospital could not confirm if Tian had conceived naturally as she was already pregnant when it took her as a patient.
Before the baby was born, Tian suffered from severe preeclampsia, heart failure and abnormal liver and kidney function, which led doctors to give her a caesarean section as a safety precaution.
The couple claim they are the oldest couple to have a baby through natural conception. Photo / CCTV Plus
"When we examined the woman's reproductive system during her labour, we found that she, unlike most other women in their 60s who have withered ovaries, has ovaries similar to that of women in their 40s. That's probably one of the reasons she was able to conceive naturally," said Liu.
The mother's baby girl, named Tianci - meaning "gift from heaven", has been sent to the premature infant's room for further care and close monitoring.
The Jinan Times said the parents already have two children, including a son born in 1977, two years before China imposed a one-child policy to control its burgeoning population.
The Jinan Times said Tian already had two children, including a son born in 1977. Photo / CCTV Plus
People started criticising the mother on China's Twitter-like Weibo platform after finding out about her third pregnancy at such an old age.
"The parents are too selfish," one person wrote.
"At their advanced age they have no ability to take care of a kid, and the pressure will be on the older siblings."
Another added: "Poor child, he's going to start taking care of his elderly parents by the time he's 20."
Others wondered if Tian and Huang would be penalised for having more than the current allowance of two children, which was changed from one after Beijing relaxed the policy.
