A 62-year old Bulgarian woman has reportedly become the country's oldest first-time mother to give birth to twins after IVF treatment.

'Age was not an obstacle for me, I so much wanted to have children', said Krasimira Dimitrova from the Northern city of Ruse, who sought treatment with IVF after Bulgarian authorities refused to allow her to adopt a baby, on account of her age.

The twins, Mary and Jacqueline, who each weighed less than one kilogram at birth, were delivered prematurely by caesarean section and are said to be healthy. Dimitrova was initially impregnated with three fertilised embryos but medics decided to remove one during the pregnancy.

'I wanted a family but when I was frustrated by the adoption service I realised the only way to make this happen would be to give birth to my own children', she said. The doctor who delivered her children, Georgy Hubchev, told the Bulgarian News Agency BTA that this was only the second case in the world of a successful embryo transfer to a woman over 60 years old, resulting in the birth of twins.

As previously reported in BioNews in December 2008, an Indian woman claiming to be 70 years old gave birth to a baby girl after IVF. BioNews also reported in July 2009 the death of the world's oldest mother of twins conceived by IVF - María Carmen del Bousada de Lara from Spain received fertility treatment in Los Angeles, California, USA, after claiming to be 55 years old. Her twins were just two when she died.

The UK Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) issued clear advice to women last year, stating that they should aim to start and complete their families during their 'most fertile years', between the ages of 20 and 35 years. An NHS report on the RCOG recommendations cited congenital abnormality, an increased risk of pre-eclampsia, and potentially fatal pregnancy complications among the potential hazards of conceiving later in life.