Annegret Raunigk, a Berlin-based school teacher, recently gave birth to three boys and one girl after a pregnancy of only 26 weeks. As a result, all of the newborns–who were delivered via C-section–are being kept in incubators and carefully monitored. Raunigk’s newborns are very small, weighing between one pound, seven ounces, and two pounds, two ounces.
Although complications involving the children cannot yet be ruled out, reports indicate the mother is doing very well.
Raunigk, who gave birth to her first child at age 21, is now the oldest woman to give birth to quadruplets. And this isn’t the first time she’s made headlines. A decade ago she grabbed the attention of the German media when, at age 55, she gave birth to a daughter. Incredibly, she now has 17 children.
Raunigk is not the oldest woman to give birth. That record belongs to India’s Rajo Devi Lohan, who gave birth at age 70 after three rounds of in vitro fertilization.
Unsurprisingly, Raunigk embraces being a mother. “I myself find life with children great,” she said. “You constantly have to live up to new challenges. And that probably also keeps you young.”
Raunigk’s children range in age from nine to 44. She is also grandmother to seven other children. She says she decided to get pregnant again because her youngest child asked for a younger brother or sister.
