Switzerland records first over-60 mothers

Adriana Illiescu, the 66-year-old Romanian woman who gave birth to a baby girl in 2005, seen shortly after the birth (AFP)

Switzerland is no exception to the late motherhood trend but the 2007 birth statistics have thrown up a new record – two first-time mothers aged over 60.

The two 61-year-old mothers, one of whom had twins, will no doubt be receiving special attention this Mother's Day. But their actions have reopened the debate on how far fertility treatment should defy natural limits.

The women, who remain anonymous, became pregnant after being implanted abroad with embryos conceived from donor eggs, a procedure which is banned in Switzerland.

Clinics in several countries, including Greece, Spain and the Czech Republic have a steady stream of clients from European countries where regulations are stricter. Some of the clinics have no age limit for patients and prices range from SFr4,000 to SFr6,000 ($3,844-$5,766) per attempted implantation.

Women above the average menopause age who go on to have established pregnancies are normally cared for back in their home countries, presenting problem cases for doctors who have to manage very high risk pregnancies.

"There are some changes in the uterus that occur with age and the vasculature that is needed to provide growth to the embryo and foetus is impaired," Michael Hohl, head doctor of the women's clinic in Baden Hospital told swissinfo. This leads to a high rate of miscarriage.

"These women also have a much higher incidence of typical pregnancy complications like hypertension, diabetes and preeclampsia," he added.

Isolated cases

However, these old mothers are still a tiny minority. Just five women aged 50 and over gave birth in Switzerland last year.

"Our experience shows it is very rare for an older woman to ask for fertility treatment. In over 20 years we have never had a patient over 50 come to us," Hohl said.

The average age of women seeking IVF treatment in Switzerland is 36. Hohl, along with other Swiss doctors working in the field of assisted reproduction, finds it unfair that women in Switzerland are denied the option of using donor eggs to conceive.

"We don't understand why oocyte egg donation is not allowed while sperm donation is. It's not correct to treat women differently," Hohl said.

"It is very important to understand that the main group of patients who would benefit from oocyte donations is not these unusually old women but younger women who, for whatever reason, do not have eggs that can be fertilised," he added.

Irene Hoesli, division head of the obstetrics unit at Basel University Hospital, also supports calls for egg donation to be permitted in Switzerland.

"We have young women who have unfortunately had very early menopause or whose fertility has been affected by chemotherapy," Hoesli told swissinfo.

Donor eggs

In such cases, the only way the women can become pregnant is with the use of donor eggs, usually fertilised with their partner's sperm in vitro before being implanted into the womb.

However some experts warn of future identity problems for children born of anonymously donated sperm or eggs when they eventually learn that their biological parents are untraceable. Added to that might be the social stigma of having an unusually old mother.

In medical terms, a pregnant women aged 35 or over is deemed to be an older mother. This is the age beyond which various tests are offered to rule out chromosomal abnormalities.

But with women in Switzerland on average having their first child at 30, so-called older mothers have almost become the norm.

"Depending on her lifestyle, a woman of 40 can be very fit and healthy. Once the first trimester is over and the risk of miscarriage diminishes, the pregnancy can be very uneventful," Hoesli said.

Growing prosperity and advances in equality, coupled with the advent of birth control, have made motherhood a complicated step for many women, who face real or perceived obstacles to fulfilling their wish for a child.

"There have been changes in society causing a lot of women to delay their childbearing to a later age. This is a true issue of our time and we have to face it," Hohl said.

swissinfo, Clare O'Dea

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Thank you for your comment Antoinette. I just wanted to point out that generally speaking women over the age of 45 would have to use donor eggs to conceive. These eggs come from young women and therefore the risk of chromosomal abnormalities corresponds to the age of the donor rather than the older mother.
However there are other risks associated with these pregnancies, as outlined by Dr. Hohl above.

I am baffled why any one at the age of above 45 would want to have a baby that desperately biologically. Why not adopt one of the thousands and thousands of orphaned children. Your article is informative but fails to reveal the risks to the baby born to a mother of above 35 -40 yr of age. That is what makes me so mad, not that they are old, that is their choice, but if that baby is born with a disability/health issues such as Downs Syndrome (which they have a significantly increased chance of as the age of the mother increases) what does that child have to live with all because the mother opted to conceive at such a late age. I am not criticising all mothers above the age of 35-40 I just think that this factor should be one that should be argued more for the sake of the children born. While careers are important so is giving a child the absolute best odds of good health.

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CONTEXT

IVF (In vitro fertilisation) is a technique in which the woman's ovaries are stimulated to produce extra egg cells. These are then removed from the body to be fertilised by sperm in a laboratory. The embryos are transferred to the woman's womb in the hope that one will successfully implant and result in a viable pregnancy. This procedure is available in Switzlerland.

Oocyte donation, just like sperm donation, is a procedure by which women can make their egg cells available to others. The donated oocyte can then be fertilised with the father's sperm and implanted. The child will receive half its genetic make-up from the donor woman, although the woman who gives birth to the child is legally recognised as its mother. This procedure is not allowed in Switzerland.