Beijing couple sought IVF treatment after their only son died in a road crash but medical staff fear pregnancy will be too risky
A 67-year-old Chinese woman who became pregnant with twins has insisted she will defy doctors’ advice to have an abortion despite their fears for her health, according to a local newspaper.
The woman, surnamed Zhang, said she was adamant she would go ahead with the pregnancy because she lost her only son in a car accident four years ago, The Beijing News reported on Wednesday.
Zhang, who would be one of the oldest women ever to give birth, was warned that her high blood pressure and age would make it an extremely risky pregnancy and the fact she was carrying twins only compounded the danger.
But she told the newspaper she and her husband had been longing for another child after their only son died aged 34 in a road accident.
“I couldn’t fall asleep without sleeping pills for years. I used to dream about educating my son’s children, but it came to nothing [after the accident],” Zhang told the newspaper.
At the time of her son’s birth in 1980, China’s one-child policy was still in force. It was only removed in 2015.
After their son’s death, Zhang and her husband tried to adopt another child, but failed because of their age, the report said.
