Frenchwoman, 59, to give birth to triplets

PARIS (AFP) — A 59-year-old Frenchwoman is due to give birth to triplets after receiving an egg donation in Vietnam, the Paris hospital treating her said on Thursday.

The mother-to-be, who is of Vietnamese origin, was being kept under medical observation and is expected to give birth "imminently," the Cochin hospital said, confirming a report in Le Parisien newspaper.

Married to a man in his 40s, she is thought to have resorted to a private Vietnamese clinic willing to overlook the age limit for egg donation and in vitro fertilisation (IVF), set at 45 in Vietnam, according to the paper.

Fertility expert Charles Brami, quoted by the paper, said delivering triplets at the age of almost 60 involved "non-negligible" health risks for the mother.

A Frenchwoman of 43 has been in a deep coma since giving birth to triplets conceived through IVF in June, according to the hospital treating her in the central city of Angers. She received an egg donation in Greece after being turned down at home on age grounds.

Egg donations are authorised in France but most fertility clinics set a maximum age limit of 42 for would-be mothers.

But nothing prevents couples from seeking fertility treatment abroad and in 2001 a 62-year-old Frenchwoman gave birth to a child conceived through IVF, in the Riviera town of Frejus.

Earlier this year, a 70-year-old Indian woman gave birth to twins after receiving IVF treatment.

So my question to you all -- When is it too old to have a child?