In a biology-defying feat for womankind, one 65-year-old woman has made the impossible possible. That’s right, a grandmother from Germany has given birth. It would be impressive enough if there was just one baby involved, but this woman has managed to birth quadruplets. Doctors thought she wouldn’t be able to do it, but she persisted and ended up winning, despite a very early and risky delivery. If that’s not girl power, we don’t know what is!
Annegret Raunigk was not a lonely woman who spent her whole life trying to have a family. She was already a mother to 13 children before the quadruplets came along, which is way too much for a lot of us already. Ranging in age from 9 to 44 years, some of her children already have children of their own, making her one unusual granny.
Raunigk decided to become pregnant again after her youngest child requested a little brother or sister. Apparently, that’s all it took for Raunigk to set about defying nature and seeking out fertility treatment. We’re not sure if her youngest was happy with four new siblings, but we guess it’s a case of being careful what you wish for!
Unlike most women, who tend to get pregnant in their more fertile years, Raunigk was unable to do things the old-fashioned way. Menopause had well and truly arrived for her and she had to find a more creative way to fulfil her daughter’s wish. She turned to IVF treatment, but what she required was so controversial, it’s illegal in Germany.
For the procedure to work, Raunigk needed both a donor egg and sperm, meaning she is not actually the biological mother of the babies she carried. In Germany, it is illegal to undergo artificial insemination with both a donor egg and sperm, so she had to hop on a plane to Ukraine in order to find a doctor who was willing to help.
The expectant mother knew she was pregnant, but was completely shocked when her 21-week ultrasound revealed a little more than one baby. Doctors informed her she was carrying not one, but four fetuses, which was basically a medical miracle, considering her age. We wouldn’t have been able to believe the screen if it happened to us!
News of the quadruplets overjoyed Raunigk and her family, but it caused nothing but concern for the doctors overseeing her pregnancy. One of the medical professionals on her case wanted her to consider a ‘selective reduction’ which would mean one or more fetuses would be aborted, in order to take the stress of all four babies off Raunigk’s older-than-usual body.
Raunigk refused the advice of her doctors and said she would be going ahead with all four babies, despite the risks. She also received a lot of criticism from people all over the world who read about her pregnancy. But she continued unbothered and wouldn’t let other people change her mind or bring down her excitement about the new additions.
Doctors were initially shocked that all four of the eggs used in the IVF treatment had successfully implanted. It’s quite normal for multiple eggs to be used when undergoing the procedure, as the chances of them all developing are extremely low. Raunigk was somewhat of a medical anomaly, especially given the fact that her body was way past normal baby-making age.
Doctors weren’t lying when they said the pregnancy would be stressful for Raunigk. She was admitted into hospital a full three months before the due date, making it an extremely risky birth. Not many babies survive being born that early, and all of them required some form of intensive care, including breathing assistance and some surgeries.
The quadruplets all ended up making it through, which was a pleasant surprise for everyone involved. Premature births are always risky, especially when they’re three months too early. A girl and three boys, their names are Neeta, Dries, Bence, and Fijon, and they have all tripled their birth weight during their time in hospital.
Source: https://wavysauce.com/at-age-70-she-gave-birth-to-quadruplets-and-you-wouldnt-believe-who-the-dad-is/
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