A 63-year-old woman from Harlingen in Friesland has become the Netherlands’ oldest first-time mother after giving birth to a baby girl.

The baby, named Meagan, is from a donated egg which was implanted into Tineke Geessink abroad. She was being treated by controversial Italian fertility expert Severino Antinori.
The baby was born by caesarean section at the Leeuwarden medical centre and both she and her mother are said to be doing well.
Prior to the birth, Geesink told Nos television in an interview she was well aware of the consquences of being an old first-time mother. ‘But my desire to have children was so deep that I have everything to give.
‘No-one knows [before they have children] how long they will live, and I hope my daughter and I will be able to enjoy each others’ company for a long time.’

Law

The age limit for IVF treatment in the Netherlands is 45.
Antinori told the Nos that Dutch law on fertility treatment is ‘old, irrational and from the Middle Ages’.
‘I am convinced that in the future a lot of Dutch doctors will support me,’ he said.
The Nos interviews are part of a documentary on Geessink, made by her nephew.