8 Oldest Pregnant Women Ever in the World

Having a baby beyond your late 30s is becoming more common as fertility treatments are now more widely available. KnowInsiders has rounded up the list of the 8 oldest pregnant women ever in the world!

Photo: KnowInsiders

The average age of pregnancy is about 26 years, but this number keeps rising each year. Recently, more women have been choosing to delay first-time motherhood until later in their lives in order to pursue careers or other interests first. Nearly all of the women on this list were able to become pregnant so late in life with the aid of various fertility treatments. The others conceived naturally despite the rarity of natural conceptions past the age of 50.

8. Aleta St. James

Age When Pregnant: 56 years, 11 months, 27 days
Country of Origin: New York, New York, USA
Method of Conception: IVF Treatment with egg donation
Baby’s Birth Date: November 9, 2004

Photo: Oldest.org

Aleta St. James is the oldest woman to ever get pregnant and successfully give birth in the United States. In 2004, St. James gave birth to twins just three days shy of her 57^th birthday. Due to the novelty surrounding St. James’ pregnancy at the time, she received a lot of attention and was featured in many national news outlets.

In 2017, the NY Daily News caught up with St. James, who had just celebrated her 70^th birthday, and her twins, Francesca and Gian. The small family appears to be doing well and St. James has fully embraced motherhood and hopes that her life inspires other older women to live their dreams.

Did You Know?

Aleta St. James, who works as a life coach and energy healer, now provides advice to other women wishing to become mothers later in life.

7. Dawn Brooke

Age When Pregnant: 59 years old
Country of Origin: Guernsey, Channel Islands
Method of Conception: Natural conception on Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT)
Baby’s Birth Date: August 20, 1997

Photo: Oldest.org

Dawn Brooke’s story about naturally conceiving a baby at nearly 60 years of age was not revealed until her son turned 10 years old in 2007. Brooke finally shared the story about how she got pregnant at 58 and gave birth to a son nine months later at the age of 59.

Initially, Brooke thought that her aches, pains, exhaustion, and weird cravings were a sign of cancer. Brooke was so worried that she cut her vacation short to seek medical treatment back home. To her surprise, the tests revealed that Brooke was 16 weeks pregnant, making her the oldest confirmed woman to conceive naturally.

Did You Know?

According to Dawn Brooke, she looks much younger than her age and people have never questioned why she has such a young child.

6. Maria Rosaria Veneruso

Age When Pregnant: 61 years old
Country of Origin: Campania, Italy
Method of Conception: Disputed – claims she conceived naturally
Baby’s Birth Date: September 2016

Photo: Oldest.org

Nearly all of the mothers on this list underwent IVF treatments in order to conceive their children and were not ashamed to admit it. Unlike these other women, Maria Rosaria Veneruso supposedly conceived her child naturally with her husband, Enzo.

However, the Venerusos’ claims were met with some skepticism as a few fertility experts said that she most likely did use a donor egg to get pregnant. Although some doctors did not believe Veneruso, Dr. Stefano Palmieri, who delivered the baby said that Veneruso’s good health and physical stamina helped her conceive and deliver the baby.

Did You Know?

Maria Rosaria Veneruso gave birth to a boy, named Elia Francesco, who was born healthy and weighed a normal 7lbs 7oz.

5. Tineke Geessink

Age When Pregnant: 63 years old
Country of Origin: Harlingen, Netherlands
Method of Conception: Postmenopausal IVF Treatment with egg donation
Baby’s Birth Date: March 22, 2011

8 Oldest Pregnant Women Ever in the World

Photo: Oldest.org

Tineke Geessink became the oldest pregnant woman in the Netherlands in 2010 and gave birth to a daughter in early 2011 at the age of 63. Geessink was a single woman working as a lawyer and had always wanted children, but it did not end up happening naturally. Instead, Geessink went to Italy to receive fertility treatments from controversial gynecologist Severino Antinori.

Geessink’s pregnancy sparked a lot of debate in the Netherlands over the ethics of becoming a mother so late in life. However, Geessink was unfazed by the negative comments and said that “It is no guarantee that if you have a child at a younger age you will see your child grow up.” Geessink believed she had a right to be a mother and would have to just deal with the consequences if she died before her daughter grew up.

Did You Know?

Tineke Geessink was not able to receive her fertility treatments in the Netherlands because the country’s doctors have a guideline that states that the maximum age for egg donation is 45 years. Geessink firs learned of Severino Antinori when she saw him on TV saying that hat he treated women until they were 63.

4. Haya Shahar

Age When Pregnant: 65 years old
Country of Origin: Bnei Brak, Israel
Method of Conception: Postmenopausal IVF Treatment with egg donation
Baby’s Birth Date: May 2015

Photo: Oldest.org

In 2015, Haya Shahar became the oldest woman in Israel to ever give birth at the age of 65. Shahar had been married to her husband, Shmuel, for over 46 years and the couple was never able to conceive naturally. Since IVF treatments are illegal on women over 54 years of age in Israel, Shahar had to receive her treatment abroad.

According to the Shahars, who practice Hasidic Judaism, their previous rebbe, Rabbi Yaakov Issachar Ber Rosenbaum, had told the couple that they would be blessed with a child not long before he passed away a few year’s before the Shahars’ son was born.

Did You Know?

Haya Shahar and her husband Shmuel named their son, Shimon Chaim, after Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, a 2nd-century Tannaitic sage in ancient Israel.

3. Maria del Carmen Bousada de Lara

Age When Pregnant: 66 years old
Country of Origin: Spain
Method of Conception: Postmenopausal IVF Treatment with egg donation
Baby’s Birth Date: December 2006

Photo: Oldest.org

Although several women have had babies later in life, Maria del Carmen Bousada de Lara is still often cited as the official oldest mother/pregnant woman in the world. This is because Bousada de Lara’s age had been definitively confirmed as 66 (she was a few days shy of her 67^th birthday) when she gave birth to twins in 2006.

While Bousada de Lara’s twins were born healthy, less than a year later Bousada de Lara was diagnosed with cancer. Unfortunately, Bousada de Lara died a few years later at the age of 69.

Did You Know?

Maria del Carmen Bousada de Lara lied about her age to receive her IVF treatment from a private clinic all the way in Los Angeles, California, which she paid a reported £30,000.

2. Rajo Devi Lohan

Age When Pregnant: 70 years old
Country of Origin: Hissar, India
Method of Conception: Postmenopausal IVF Treatment with egg donation
Baby’s Birth Date: November 2008

Photo: Oldest.org

Rajo Devi Lohan is another older mother from India who was pregnant when she was 70 years old. Lohan underwent IVF treatments in 2007 when she was 69 and gave birth to a daughter the following year. While the pregnancy was a success, Lohan nearly died while delivering the baby.

Lohan’s story was followed up in 2013, when she was 74 years old and her daughter, Naveen was 4. According to Lohan, having her daughter has made her feel healthier and stronger and she feels that she will live long enough to see Naveen grow up.

Did You Know?

Rajo Devi Lohan is not worried about her daughter’s future if Lohan dies before she grows up because her husband has another wife, Umi, who is much younger than Lohan. Also Lohan owns land, which she her daughter will inherit as she is Lohan’s only child.

1. Daljinder Kaur

Age When Pregnant: 72 years old
Country of Origin: India
Method of Conception: Postmenopausal IVF Treatment with egg donation
Baby’s Birth Date: April 19, 2016

Photo: Oldest.org

Daljinder Kaur had her first child at the age of 72, making her the oldest pregnant woman ever in the world. Due to her advanced age, Kaur did not conceive the baby naturally and underwent a controversial postmenopausal IVF treatment. Additionally, donor eggs were used in Kaur’s fertility treatments.

Kaur had first started her fertility treatments back in 2013, but the first round was unsuccessful. She went through another round of IVF, which also failed, before successfully giving birth to a son named Arman in 2016.

Did You Know?

Daljinder Kaur had tried to have a baby for over five decades with her husband, Mohinder Singh Gill, who was 79 when their child was born.

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