62-year-old woman gives birth to third child

MADRID -- A 62-year-old woman in Spain has given birth to a healthy girl and encourages other women in their later years to imitate her if they want to.

Lina Alvarez left the Lucus Augusti Hospital in the northwestern city of Lugo on Tuesday with her third child in her arms, saying she felt wonderful.

She said baby Lina, born Oct. 10, was in perfect health. The 2.4-kilogram (5.3-pound) Lina was born by cesarean section.

Alvarez’s first child, now 27, was born with cerebral palsy. Her second child is now 10. Her second and third pregnancies were through in-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment.

Alvarez, a doctor, said that women who are well enough to have a baby in their later years shouldn’t be afraid to do so, adding that they should let nature decide.

Childbearing at that age is extremely rare, but not a record. A woman in her 70s gave birth in India last spring after two years of IVF treatment, and in Germany last year, a 65-year-old grandmother delivered quadruplets.

In the U.S., the CDC reports that about 600 women a year have a baby at age 50 or over.