MADRID – A Spanish woman believed to have become the world's oldest new mother when she gave birth at 66 has died at 69, leaving behind twin toddlers, newspapers reported Wednesday.

Maria del Carmen Bousada, who reportedly died Saturday, gave birth in December 2006 as a single mother after getting in vitro fertilization treatment at a clinic in Los Angeles.

The births ignited a firestorm of debate over how old is too old for a new mother, and how much responsibility fertility clinics have over who gets treatments.

Bousada told an interviewer she lied to the fertility clinic about her age, and maintained that because her mother had lived to be 101, she had a good chance of living long enough to raise a child.

Bousada's death was reported by the newspaper El Mundo and Diario de Cadiz. Cadiz is the southern province where Bousada lived her whole life.

Diario de Cadiz quoted her brother, Ricardo Bousada, as confirming her death but refusing to disclose the cause. The newspaper said she had been diagnosed with a tumor shortly after giving birth.

The Barcelona-based newspaper El Periodico de Catalunya quoted Ricardo Bousada as saying he sold the exclusive on his sister's death to an unidentified television program and that the proceeds would go to looking after his sister's twins.

The newspaper quoted him as saying that it had been "very difficult. Lately, she had been really bad." He could give no further details because of the arrangement, the newspaper reported.

The Associated Press was not immediately able to reach the brother for comment.

There was no word on who would raise the children, named Pau and Christian. Bousada had once said she would look for a younger man to help her raise them.

In January 2007, she told the British tabloid News of the World that she sold her house to raise $59,000 to pay for the in vitro fertilization.

"I think everyone should become a mother at the right time for them," Bousada said in a video of the interview provided to Associated Press Television News.

"Often circumstances put you between a rock and a hard place, and maybe things shouldn't have been done in the way they were done, but that was the only way to achieve the thing I had always dreamed of, and I did it," she said.

The retired department store employee said she told the Pacific Fertility Center that she was 55 — the clinic's cut-off for treating single women. She said the clinic did not ask her for identification.

Bousada lived with her mother most of her life in Cadiz. She hatched her plan to have children after her mother died in 2005, she said, initially keeping her plan secret from her family. When she finally told them she was two months pregnant, they thought she was joking.

"Yes, I am old of course, but if I live as long as my mom did, imagine, I could even have grandchildren," she said in the video.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/a...oldest_mom

how sad...

Bride's bouquet crashes plane in Italy

ROME – A romantic wedding in the Tuscan countryside ended with injuries after an attempt to launch the bride's bouquet from a plane brought down the tiny aircraft. Italian police say two people were hurt in the crash of the ultralight plane after the bridal bouquet they launched got caught in the aircraft's rear rotor.

The flowers blocked the engine, bringing the plane down by a youth hostel.

Police in the nearby town of Piombino said Tuesday the pilot was lightly injured in Saturday's crash, while the passenger who threw the bouquet had several broken bones.

The bride and groom were not aboard the plane.

There should be a cut off age for women when it comes to IVF.

As for the bouquet of flowers, what a bunch of bloody idiots!

Children lose their young parents to cancer (and tons of other reasons) all the time...not sure why her age is relevant in her death here.

Well it's sad but not surprising.

PanthaGirl said:

It never ceases to amaze me how idiotic, stupid, moronic, careless, selfish, rude , impatient and downright offensive and dangerous some people can be when they step on board of a plane, whether it is a jet or an ultralight plane, doesn´t really matter. Some people seem to show their true nature when they´re on board.
I guess taking someone on board is a good kind of a litmus test to see what they´re really like.

I really FEEL for flight attendents, they have a tough job.


Some can be quite snobbish though. But I´d have an attitude, too, if I had to see so many idiots every day.
[Edited 7/15/09 8:41am]

KoolEaze said:

Well said my friend and yah it's a challenging gig...

Anyone heard of the plane with the football sized hole in it....

for the mom who died... for her babies...

for the wedding folks - it's just a wedding, everyone needs to calm their asses down w/ stunts & unnecessary bullshit. What a ridiculous reason to get hurt!

JustErin said:

It's more likely that you will not see your children grow up when you have them at an old age. Or that you won't be in good health when they are still young.

Serious said:

Sure, but that still doesn't take away the fact that people with children die every day.

JustErin said:

That's true. But it's egoistic if really old people have children IMO. Well IMO it's egoistic to have children anyway, but even more when you are old.

Serious said:

In understand, but you can really argue that just about anything is egoistic.

peacenlovealways said:

the passengers hugged the pilot for getting them back on the ground safely.

morningsong said:

yeah, that's nice.

PanthaGirl said:

You mean there ISNT a cut off age? ok...so i guess if a 70 yr old lady wants a baby, all she has to do is pass a physical & then ...BAM...a week after giving birth she could possibly die of a stroke or another "age related" problem.

IMO children need healthy parents to be able to keep up with thier high energy demands & give them a good qaulity childhood.

drs that do this procedure on "older women" should have thier licence revolked.

sonic said:

In all fairness to whoever her doctors were, she lied about her age so...

Being an infant and your mom dying is not the only factor that is GREATLY INCREASED when the elderly have kids.....look at all the birth defects that are far more likely. This woman was selfish to bring these children into the world when she is at friggin retirment age.

I agree with Justerin on this. I guess some ppl would call me names or judge me since I am over 35 and having a child.
I have to take extra tests since I am considered "high risk" (only in the states, the UK they do not call me that), even though the midwife and GP have both told me I am healthier than most 25 year old's they see pregnant.

I would never have a child after the age of 40, that was my cutoff, hence the reason I am only having one child. That is just my personal choice.

We all stand the risk of having cancer at any age, young or old.

meow85 said:

...although the cut-off age was 55 I believe.

sonic said:

Depends on the clinic and country. Modern clinics in USA, UK, Oz are vigilant and strict towards their IVF policies and then there are dodgy clinics that will take a buck over anything. Personally I think the cut off age should be 45.

PanthaGirl said:

once a woman has hit menopause that should be it imo. my heart goes out to those babies.

StillGotIt said:

I think the octo-mom is looking to adopt. I mean, she's got money.


















































Yes, people. I know what I said is not funny. I know.

JustErin said:

right. I had a girlfriend that died having twins. She was 23.