Australian Medical Association president Michael Gannon has slammed the birth of a child to a 62-year-old mother as "selfish," "wrong" and "madness".
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The Tasmanian woman, whose age had earlier been reported as being 63, reportedly became the oldest woman to give birth in Australia on Monday.
The girl was born by caesarean section at Frances Perry House private hospital in Parkville, Victoria.
She was born prematurely but is said to be progressing well, along with her mother, Channel Seven reported.
Dr Gannon, an obstetrician and gynaecologist, condemned the birth on Twitter.
"Child starts life in NICU [Neonatal Intensive Care Unit]. Anyone thought ahead to its teens? Selfish, wrong," he wrote.
"This is a rights issue. Consider rights of the child, society, taxpayer. Madness. Not designed to have kids in 60s'."
This is a rights issue. Consider rights of the child, society, taxpayer. Madness. Not designed to have kids in 60s’ https://t.co/yYoLAlDwHs— AMA President (@amapresident) August 2, 2016
63yo woman has #ivf baby. Greater priorities in #womenshealth. Child starts life in NICU. Anyone thought ahead to its teens? Selfish, wrong.— AMA President (@amapresident) August 2, 2016
Channel Seven has reported that the woman and her 78-year-old partner conceived through IVF overseas, using a donor embryo.
Frances Perry House released a statement on Wednesday saying the mother was seeking privacy.
"We understand the huge interest in this story but the family has advised that they are not seeking any publicity now, or in the future," Frances Perry's chief executive Michael Rozek said.
"The hospital will respect the family's wishes and uphold their right to privacy."
There are no laws governing the age limits for IVF treatments in Australia but Victorian legislation – and that of most states – is framed around what is in the best interests of the child.
Two of Victoria's largest IVF providers won't treat women who are older than 50 and a third caps patients at 53.
These limits were based around increased medical risks for the mother and child and ethical concerns.
Professor Gab Kovacs, an IVF expert, said only very fit women with healthy hearts would be considered suitable candidates for IVF in their early 50s.
"Being pregnant [at 62] is dangerous to the mother and baby," he said.
"She might have had high blood pressure, which is much more common at a later age.
"She might have been bleeding behind the placenta, which is much more common at a later age.
"Also, by the time the child is going to be 21, the mother is going to be 84."
Professor Kovacs said the birth sent the wrong message to older women who might be considering having a child.
"If you looked at 100 women who had babies in this situation, there wouldn't be many very happy stories," he said.
Victorian IVF clinics said it was incredibly rare to receive inquiries from woman aged in their 60s.
"We're not designed to have children at that age," said Adnan Catakovic, the chief executive of the City Fertility clinic.
"Are you giving the child the best possible life? The interests of the child are meant to be paramount."
A 61-year-old woman had approach City Fertility about acting as a surrogate to carry her daughter's baby for her, but the clinic had to turn her down because the risks to her were too high, he said.
Doctors can prepare a woman's uterus to carry a baby even after she's been through menopause but that doesn't mean they should in all cases, said Monash IVF's medical director Professor Luk Rombauts.
"Clearly, biologically speaking, it's quite possible to conceive after that age, the uterus doesn't stop functioning.
"It might go into a deep sleep when a woman goes into menopause but it can be woken back up again," he said.
"The key concerns are around medical risks of pregnancy at that later age."
Melbourne IVF medical director Lyndon Hale said the only case of a woman over 50 his clinic would consider providing treatment to would be a mother who wanted to carry her daughter's child as a surrogate but the child would be raised by the younger woman.
"The older you get the more likely that you have cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, that sort of thing," he said.
"The ethical issues are when you're having a child. It's in the Victorian legislation that we have to do what's in the best interests of the child."
Dr Gannon's tweets drew criticism online with some people branding them overly harsh and querying why his judgement was not directed at the doctor who performed the procedure or the child's father who is reportedly aged in his late 70s.
@amapresident Im sorry, I didnt realise you were the head of the Australian Moral Association! #auspol— Voltaire's bastard (@MickKime) August 3, 2016
@amapresident Just looking for your outraged tweet about Mick Jagger fathering a child at 72...— Team Oz Mate (@bebutch) August 3, 2016
@imerincook I'll check my privilege at this point, I could be convinced there're grounds, but on the face of it I agree with @amapresident— Andrew (@egadheg) August 3, 2016
The previous record for the oldest Australian mother was held by a 60-year-old woman who gave birth in 2010.
Indian woman Daljinder Kaur became a mother at about 70 years old (she doesn't know her exact age) in May with the help of Dr Anurag Bishnoi, the owner of the National Fertility and Test Tube Baby Centre.
The same doctor had also assisted a 70-year-old Rajo Devi give birth in 2008.
With Neelima Choaham