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Risks are too great to have another IVF child, says mother, 59
Mark Prigg, Science and Technology Editor17 May 2010
Fresh warnings were issued today about the risk of fertility treatment to older women as a 59-year-old backed out of treatment at the last minute.
Susan Tollefsen was due to start her course at a London clinic. However, she admitted her first IVF baby nearly killed her, and that she had changed her mind about further treatment.
“We've basically decided the risks are too great and I'm too old,” she said. “My advice to older women wanting children is don't risk it'.”
Two years ago Ms Tollefsen, a retired teacher from Laindon, Essex, had daughter Freya at the age 57. She had to visit a Russian clinic when refused treatment in the UK because of her age. A donor egg was fertilised with sperm from husband Nick Mayer, 11 years her junior.
Most private clinics observe a guideline prohibiting treatment for women over 50, while the NHS has a cut-off point of 39 — causing some women to visit foreign clinics with more liberal rules.
“After I had Freya I had a burst ulcer in my stomach and I nearly died,” said Ms Tollefsen. “I don't want to leave behind two young children for my husband to look after on his own. He is a bit nervous that we are tempting fate with my age. I should just be happy with the child I've got. I had hoped to set a precedent for older women but that's not going to happen.”
Peter Bowen-Simpkins, medical director of the London Women's Clinic in Harley Street, said: “I would very strongly agree with the view that in general women over 50 should not have IVF treatments.
“While in some cases there are compelling reasons, I think it is unlikely we will see anyone else of 59 attempting IVF, and there are a lot of medical reasons they shouldn't.” Michaela Aston of the pro-life charity Life, which offers counselling for women considering abortion and fertility treatment, said offering IVF to post-menopausal women was a deeply worrying development.
She said: “Women of this age do not conceive naturally for a reason, we should be guided by Mother Nature on this.”
In May last year, 66-year-old Elizabeth Adeney from Lidgate, Suffolk, became the country's oldest mother after travelling to Ukraine.
