For many people, 13 children would be more than enough.
But not for Annegret Raunigk.
The 65-year-old German grandmother recently gave birth to quadruplets, making her the oldest woman ever to do so.
The new arrivals increase her progeny to a total of 17 children. And let’s not forget her seven grandchildren.
Raunigk, a single mother, gave birth last week to three boys and one girl after a pregnancy of just under 26 weeks, the German broadcaster RTL reported.
The newborns — whose names are Neeta, Dries, Bence and Fjonn — were delivered by C-section and are being kept in incubators for premature babies, according to RTL.
Daughter wanted a younger sibling
Raunigk, a teacher from Berlin, made headlines 10 years ago when, at the age of 55, she gave birth to a daughter, Leila. And it was apparently Leila’s plea for a younger sibling that encouraged her mother to try again.
“I myself find life with children great,” Raunigk said earlier this year. “You constantly have to live up to new challenges. And that probably also keeps you young.”
To become pregnant, she used in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment with donated eggs that were fertilized.
One doctor tried to persuade her to abort one or two of the fetuses, but she refused to consider it.
Indian woman holds record
Raunigk, who had her first child at 21, is still not the oldest woman to give birth.
That record is held by Rajo Devi Lohan, an Indian woman who at 70 became the world’s oldest known first time mother after three rounds of IVF.
Her daughter Naveen will turn 7 later this year.
