May 18) -- Elizabeth Adeney of Suffolk, England, is scheduled to have her first child next week by cesarean section. The pregnancy has stirred up controversy across the Atlantic because the birth will make Adeney, 66, Britain's oldest new mother.
London's Daily Mail reported that Adeney tried to have a child through fertility treatments five years ago, but was left "emotionally exhausted" by the failure, according to a friend.
But Adeney decided to persist after talking with medical professionals, the friend said.
Some people have criticized Adeney for deciding to have a child so late in life. Italian fertility specialist Severino Antinori, who helps women between ages 49 and 63 conceive, told the Daily Mail he would not have treated Adeney.
"I do not treat women older than 63," he said. "I don't want the child to be left without a mother before they reach 20."
Adeney, a childless divorcee, underwent fertility treatments in Ukraine. She works as a managing director at a plastics and textiles company. What does she have to say about the controversy?
"I don't have to defend what I've done. It's between me, my baby and no one else," Adeney told Britain's Telegraph.
66 is to old to be giving birth
