65-Year-Old Woman Expecting Quadruplets
Guess she really loves being a mom.
SpeedKingz / Shutterstock Annegret Raunigk didn't let age stop her from having more children. If she can go through birthing quadruplets at 65, then a lot of us don't have an excuse for being lazy.
The grandmother, who will soon retire, went through artificial insemination using an egg and sperm donor.
She then refused selective reduction abortion when it was revealed she was carrying four babies at her 21st-week ultrasound.
But here's the kicker (oh yeah, there's more): she currently has 13 children and seven grandchildren.
Whoa. That's a lot of birthdays and holidays to keep up with.
She decided she wanted more after learning that it was still an option. That's amazing, modern science really makes you wonder what else is possible.
"I don't think I will have any problems," Raunigk tells Daily Mail. "I think one needs to decide for oneself and not listen too much to the opinions of others."
What an empowering statement. Have kids at 25. Have kids at 75. Don't have kids at all. The world doesn't get to tell you what to do. Neither does 'the path' you think you should be following at a certain age.
She will be the oldest woman to give birth to quadruplets. Quadruplets.
That's 4 children. Bringing her total number of children to 17.
Do they live in a mansion? Or are all the kids just sharing one bed, sleeping on top of each other? I need answers.
The previous record-holder was Merry Fudel at the age of 55.
The oldest woman to ever give birth is Indian Omkari Panwar, who was 70. She was 70! I can't even begin to imagine what that was like.
This isn't Raunigk's first rodeo making headlines for giving birth at a certain age.
She also shocked the media when she had her daughter, Leila, at the age of 55. And now Leila will no longer know the joys of being the youngest child in a large family.
It really is okay to put off having children because it's pretty possible to have them later in life, so don't let anyone try to convince you that you need to start having kids now, even though you don't feel any close to being ready to be a mom.
Relax. Spend a good 25 years sowing your wild oats, and then focus on finding the love of your life, and then have children. That sounds like a pretty good plan to me.
Having four newborns certainly isn't what people normally picture on the brink of retirement.
I would usually picture more of a nice big house in Florida, vacations to Mexico with the husband every year.
But kudos to her! And best of luck. She's gonna need it.
Nicole Weaver has been an author with YourTango since 2013. You can contact her on Twitter.
Editor's Note: This article was originally published in April 2015.