Britain’s oldest mum gave birth at 66

THE oldest mother in Britain is Elizabeth Adeney, who as a childless divorcee gave birth at 66 in 2009 following IVF treatment in the Ukraine.

The businesswoman, from Lidgate, near Newmarket, was heavily criticised for her choice but said: ‘I don’t have to defend what I’ve done. It’s between me, my baby and no one else.’

The previous record holder was Patricia Rashbrook, who gave birth at 62 in 2006 following IVF. The child psychologist, from Lewes, East Sussex, and her husband John had travelled to the former Soviet Republic for IVF treatment. The world’s oldest natural conception was retired civil servant Dawn Brooke, of Guernsey, at 58. She initially feared that her aches, cravings and exhaustion were signs of cancer.

In 2006, Carmela Bousada, of Barcelona, Spain, took the world record for the oldest mother when she gave birth to twins a week before her 67th birthday. The former shop worker was said to have lied about her age to get IVF treatment in America. She died two years later of cancer.