April 25, 2024
beginning of life issues

“What on earth have I done?” asks 58-year-old mother of IVF twins

Michael Cook

Another chapter in the reproductive revolution from the UK: 58-year-old Carole Hobson, a single woman, is now the mother of twins. Not exactly her twins. The biological mother is a 24-year-old Indian woman organised by a Mumbai IVF clinic; the biological father a Scandinavian engineer.

Another chapter in the reproductive revolution. From the UK: 58-year-old Carole Hobson, a single woman, is now the mother of twins. Not exactly her twins. The biological mother is a 24-year-old Indian woman organised by a Mumbai IVF clinic; the biological father a Scandinavian engineer. Triplets resulted after six embryos had been implanted, so Ms Hobson decided on a foetal reduction for the sake of her and the twins’ health.

She split up with her partner of 11 years, underwent 5 IVF attempts and spent £20,000 in order to become a mother. Now, says the Daily Mail, she is “sleep-deprived, pole-axed by the reality of caring for baby twins and anxious for their still fragile health”. She is also asking herself whether it was really such a good idea after all:

“It was only after the twins’ arrival that the implications of my age sank in. I remember saying to a nurse: ‘It is so sad that I won’t live long enough to see my children into their 30s.’ But she was wonderful and said: ‘You never know — with all the advances of medical science you could well be alive well into their adulthood.’ ”

She has an answer for critics: “Some people might accuse me of being selfish or going against nature, but isn’t it going against nature to perform transplants or heart surgery? I’m no more selfish than any other woman who wants a family.”

What now? She is going back to work next year, after her maternity leave ends, leaving Matthew and Frieda in child care. Daily Mail, March 19

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