What are benefits and drawbacks of women in their sixties giving birth?

Question

Please see the attached story.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1815854,00.html

What are the prospects of the parents surviving until their child turns 18?

Thanks to all who answered. There are so many good answers that I have put this to the vote.

Answer 1

it's just a bad idea, the doctors that assist with this crap out to be lynched....Is it fair to an 18 or even 20 year old to have to take care of their parents, right out of highschool....unfortunately people age, and become unable to care for themselves, at 18 you shouldn't have to attend care plan meetings at the nursing home for your mother, and you shouldn't have to be wiping their butts either....I just feel that it's selfish of these women....

Answer 2

Benefits:
1) The child will have more financially secure parents, because they've had a longer time to establish themselves financially.

2)The parents are more mature with parenting experience, so the child will not be subject to as many mistakes that parents commonly make due to lack of experience/maturity.

Drawbacks:
1) A high risk pregancy. (Which in this case no longer applies, as mom and baby both made it OK.)

2) Greater risks of genetic defects. I doubt that this is the case here. They can do an amniocentesis to test the gentics of the baby prior to birth, but don't know if the parents opted for that or if the Dr thought it too high risk, as it could have put the mom in peril. It sounded like the baby was fine. I doubt that they would announce this birth to the world if the baby had problems.

The chances of the parents surviving until the child turns 18 are actually very good. People are living longer and are living healthy longer. With a baby to care for, this will help to keep the parents young. Elderly people thrive better in an environment where they are not around people who's only topic of conversation is to complain or brag about their last surgery and all the gorey details.

Also, the Bible has several cases of elderly (I mean VERRY elderly) women having a child. And they lived to see their child reach adulthood.

I think that baby and parents will do just fine.

Answer 3

The main drawback of a woman aged 60 giving birth is that they won't be around for a while to make a 60-year-old man a nice hot, strong cup of tea.

OK?

Answer 4

Not just that, but you should also consider the quality of life for the child that is birthed from a genetically degraded ovum, and that's led a life of having parents the ages of most other children's grandparents.

Answer 5

for one thing, there's been a link between women over 40 giving birth and down syndrom. not to mention the fact that if 60 when giving birth, she'd be 90 when they graduate!

Answer 6

Umm.... there r no benefits. If ur old then u might not even get to see ur kid grow up. Plus, when ur that old there can be sum serious complications at birth. Not a good thing!

Answer 7

The drawbacks are mostly for the child:

powdered breast milk,
kids saying, 'that's your mom? looks like my great-grandmother!' (granted the old women lasts that long)

Answer 8

I have heard that women who have lots of children live longer for some odd reason like they have to take care of their family.
I don't think she will be able to raise him properly though, to keep up with him and discipline him when he needs it.

Answer 9

Eww...Dats Just Plain Nasti.....Too Old.....I Mean Too Too Old!

Answer 10

I think that they're just ignorant of what will happen to this child later on when they're gone.