To think this is just not acceptable (NHS related)

I think Riverwalk, you make a fair point. For all that its an amazing healthcare system that none of us would want to be without, the NHS is emphatically NOT without its flaws. Until it becomes a service that encourages positive health, it can only be a system that mops up all the excesses thrown at it. It seems a bit unfair to single out this woman's situation because it has been highlighted in the media

MaryEliza I'm totally with you. Actually I meant to start a thread myself and forgot.^ Of course^they should receive NHS care. No one is disputing that. But it was a completely selfish act. Utterly ridiculous. Heartwarming? Give me strength!

And yet, I was reading a different headline about falling fertility rates:
www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-46118103

Personally, I couldn't imagine being able to look at one baby, let alone 4 at the age of 50 but if I'd wanted another at that age, it would have been such a driving need, I'd have probably done the same as this woman.
Anyone who has undergone fertility treatment will know that the success rates, particularly at such an age, are extremely low and the likelihood of having a multiple pregnancy are even lower. For that reason alone, they would have put back 3 embryos knowing that they were likely to fail. Once you're actually pregnant, and you've seen that number of embryo's in a scan, what are you supposed to do. Intervention to reduce the number of babies risks them all and until they are well into development, you don't know if they will make it.
I had that situation myself when I was 39, where it would be life threatening to have twins but there were 2 living embryos. Having gone through the most terrible pregnancy the year before when I was left childless, I could not bring myself to kill one embryo and was paralysed with fear. I was lucky(?) that one embryo failed so the danger decreased.
Just because this woman had these children by IVF, why should she or her babies be refused treatment? If she were younger, conceived naturally (and some people do at 50), would you be so judgemental? People come to Britain all the time whilst they are pregnant and give birth...if anybody should dare suggest they shouldn't be allowed, there is an outcry.
It is also likely that these 4 humans will "give back" to society so to condemn them as a burden is just awful.

NO ONE is saying the babies should be left to die- so stop 'stirring it' paddyann-what seems to be the comment is she should pay for this if she wants it rather than drain NHS resourses.whats "heartwarming" about it exactly?ive had 7 children- 2 of which needed special babycare.without which my 2 youngest children and some of my grandchildren probably would not be here today- But i had remarried,so had those other children.and had my youngest when almost 40.I certainly wouldnt have 'started again' at 50 and not when i had 3 healthy children with same husband already.That IS selfish,and ridiculous.its tiring enough being a gran and still parenting a teenager at my age(now 55) as it is.this mum must have a full time nanny or some such to help is all i can guess.so if shes money for that she should be paying for the medical care too.

icanhandthemback I was just composing a post which echoes yours. We need young people, especially since so many Poles and other EU citizens are feeling unwanted here and returning home with the children they had here and were schooling here.

Quite a few women maybe get broody and remember things through rose coloured specs when they have grandchildren.But its hard work being an 'older' parent and with 4at once?well we'l just have to wait& see if they cope, wont we?

I dont know why that lady did sarahcyn- but as i explained- ive had 7 but i had divorced& remarried- so had more children...others are in news often who have even BIGGER families- even these days-but i grew up among some huge families in our town,some who had 13 or even over 20 children.(there was only 3 of us in our family)- but back in the day,as they say,large families were the norm,not the exception.

I don't find it heartwarming but I think that it is the clinic in Cyprus which should bear the criticism. It has been a long time since implanting that many embryos has been recommended procedure in any country and they should take responsibility for aftercare if there is a problem with the babies.
The reality is that if it were a responsibly clinic, they would not have done it in that way so we are where we are.
She will get enough criticism but she shouldn't be praised or the story called heartwarming either.

And as your name suggests- icanhandthemback- when its granchildren yes we can hand them back when we are tired,and its too much or we feel not as up to it all at end of the day- but when the babies/toddlers/teenagers are your own children you cant.you have to get on with it and manage.im not certain this lady has thought it all through,and yes she has older grown up children who may be willing to help- but they have their own lives too- its selfish to expect them to shoulder her/her husbands responsibilities.

I have never smoked and dont drink very much,only xmas,birthdays etc....just for the record....

123 coco, I think you are very magnanimous and I'm sorry that you weren't able to have the children you wanted.

Going back to the OP, I think it's morally wrong for women of a certain age to have intervention so they can have a child/ren. The odds dictate as we age we are far more likely to a) have things go wrong physically, or b) die. I believe at least one such geriatric mother, much older than the one in question, has in fact died, leaving very young twins to be brought up, without a contingency plan in place, Yes there is a counter argument that unfortunately a small minority of young parents die whilst their children are still very young, but that's a lot less likely.

I think women go through the menopause for a reason, that reason being "it's not our time anymore for childbearing". I'm not including women who have children late in life because they are on the cusp of the menopause and their periods are all over the place. I can just about understand an older woman seeking intervention to become a mother because they are childless, but this woman has 3 grown up offspring and quite a few grandchildren. It's the tremendous cost to the NHS for her self indulgent act, for heaven's sake we all know that their resources are finite, so yes she is being incredibly selfish . The logistics of having quads, I imagine would be enormously difficult for a young mother, so she's got an uphill struggle ahead, let's just hope she doesn't live to regret it, because it will be these children who'll suffer.

I thought it said she paid for this treatment with a legacy? or did I mis read it?

Has she said she'll want state help to raise them ? If not then its none of our business,let her be happy with HER choice.Such a lot of moaning old biddies on here !

She's 50 ...FIFTY not 85 ,of course she's able to bring up children.I cant be the only person on the planet who was fit as a flea at that age ,and still am at 64.

No publicity at all, but babies should be cared for, they are not to blame for the parents decision.

So she’s had no state help with her pregnancy and delivery, no state provide special care for the babies, no future health care, education etc for any of them ? No, no state help at all. Phew - thank goodness for that. As for our society needing more babies born - how many babies could have been born through IVF to younger childless women using the resources she has devoured without giving a damn. As for the media highlighting the story - she went to the MSM with it - huge double page spread in DM before babies were born - no doubt with a fee. She put herself and her story out there.

The clinic in Cyprus are just making money - why should they care at all about any risks to her, the babies or the costs of any of this decision.

I agree it's selfish for this woman to have had these babies. As to the question about whether she wants state help to raise them, the family are receiving state help right now from the NHS. Unless the family have great wealth, child benefit will be paid, along with state education etc

Of course the babies should be given NHS care but I do not see this as a heart warming story. Given the amount of publicity already, I wonder if these children are going to be funded by being mini celebrities.

Yes, nannan2, my name reflects the way I feel but I did say it wasn’t for me, mainly because of health issues. I am quite sure that this lady thought about what she was doing before she embarked upon IVF. It is not a decision she would have embarked on lightly.

Moaning old biddy yourself when it suits you paddyann! On second thoughts I'll amend that to moaning old SHOUTY, practically frothing out the mouth with righteous anger biddy.

She may well have thought about it a great deal but that doesn’t tell us anything about the actual quality of her thinking does it?

I have very mixed feelings over this story, IVF is prominent in our family, some successes but many failures and heartache.

Yearning for a baby is such a primeval feeling. She was obviously able to afford IVF and all the treatments and medication leading up to the procedure and she was very fortunate that it was successful.

There never seems to be the same outrage when an older Father is boasting about his babies (several aging rockstars spring to mind).

Harrysgranwrote ‘Men carry on becoming fathers into their 60s and 70s and are congratulated and given a pat on the back especially if they are a celebrity’.
The fact is that when this happens, (Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood, Mick Jagger for example) these men are invariably having those babies with much younger women who are still capable of running around after toddlers and are likely to live until their children reach adulthood.

GG i don’t think there’s any criticism of IVF on this thread - I have two very close friends who have had much lived and wanted children through this method. She has had 3 children so I think it’s hard to argue or be sympathetic about any primeval feelings she may have retained. And all she’s paid for (£7k) is the actual IVF - certainly once she came home from Cyprus pregnant every single bit of her care has been NHS. I think her age is a bit of a red herring - well it is for me. If she had been 10 years younger but with 3 children I would still criticise her as selfish and entitled and would not describe the story as ‘heartwarming’.

Loved of course