A 57-year-old mother has become one of the oldest women in the US to give birth after she delivered a healthy baby boy.
Barbara Higgins and her husband Kenny Banzhoff just welcomed their adorable son, Jack, at Concord Hospital, four years after her 13-year-old daughter died from an undiagnosed brain tumor.
“I’m 57. The whole thing was a bit surreal quite honestly,” Barbara told the Today show.
After losing her daughter in 2016, Barbara became overwhelmed with the idea of having another child.
“Molly was 13 (and she) had an undiagnosed brain tumor and died very suddenly,” Barbara expressed. “That throws your life into a tailspin of feelings and experiences that you weren’t expecting.”
The 57-year-old, who has another daughter named Grace, said to NBC Boston that she started having desires to get pregnant again while she was still grieving.
“I started having these dreams that I wanted to have a child, and I thought, ‘OK, Barb, that’s a little crazy,’” she said, adding her husband was very supportive.
They went to an IVF clinic in Boston, Massachusetts, but they did not tell anyone about the amazing news until she was 20 weeks pregnant.
Barbara credited her good genes and active lifestyle. “I do a lot of weight training and all that crazy Crossfit stuff that you hear about,” she expressed.
After three hours of labor, she gave birth to Jack who weighed 5lbs 13 oz.
“Who knows how I’ll be in 10 years, but who knows how he’ll be in 10 years,” Barbara said. “That isn’t something that anyone can predict.
“And why should Jack not get to be alive just because I’m old.”
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Replaced!