65-Year-Old Mother Of 13 May Be Oldest Woman to Ever Birth Quadruplets

Annegret Raunigk may not be the oldest woman to give birth—that title goes to the late Maria del Carmen Bousada de Lara, who was 66 at the time her twins were born—but she may be the oldest woman to ever give birth to quadruplets. And the four babies, delivered prematurely in May, are now ready to go home.

People reports that Raunigk chose to get pregnant because her youngest daughter, aged 10, was worried about not having a baby brother or sister and asked her mother to have one. The retired schoolteacher chose to honor her daughter’s wish and now the child has a whole assortment of babies to play with and take care of. That’s in addition to the twelve siblings she already has (being youngest must have been hard), some who already have kids of their own. According to reports, Raunigk’s new children are actually younger than some of her grandkids. And Raunigk went to great lengths to have the babies that her youngest daughter asked for.

From People:

To help make the pregnancy possible, she traveled to the Ukraine to have donated, fertilized eggs implanted, a procedure that’s not legal in Germany, the AP reports.

Seems like a lot to go through just because your kid asked you. Perhaps—and I’m just spitballing here—there’s a deeper reason as to why Raunigk chose to have more babies (when she already has seven grandchildren) than what she admits, especially considering the health risks and expense involved. That’s a lot to pin on a ten-year old’s request. Bet she didn’t get her the pony the kid probably asked for.

According to doctors, the babies had to undergo surgery and be given breathing support upon being delivered, but are now much healthier. Doctors say the infants now weigh over five pounds each and will likely go home very soon.