"Children keep me young," Berlin woman Annegret Raunigk said after the birth of her 13th child nine years ago at age 55. Now 65, Raunigk plans to add four more bundles of joy to her already large family. Raunigk underwent numerous attempts at artificial insemination over 18 months using donor eggs and sperm after her youngest daughter, Leila, asked for a baby brother or sister. While a pregnancy was planned, Raunigk says it was "a shock for me" when doctors found she was carrying quadruplets: "On the scan it was just clear to see." She's reportedly more than halfway through her pregnancy and the babies are due this summer, People reports, via German newspaper Bild. If all goes as planned, Raunigk, a schoolteacher, will become the world's oldest mother of quadruplets, reports AFP.
Raunigk reportedly considered giving up the babies for adoption, and doctors said aborting one of the fetuses would increase the others' chances of survival, the Irish Times reports. But Raunigk has since decided to raise all four babies. "I always find it very aggravating that one has to fulfill certain cliches," she says. "I'm not actually afraid ... I simply assume I'll remain healthy and fit." Of course, she'll have plenty of help: Her 13 children from five fathers are between the ages of 9 and 44; she also has seven grandchildren. Raunigk's gynecologist says the pregnancy is going well, and though there's a risk of premature birth, doctors hope to avoid meeting the babies too soon, AFP reports, via German TV station RTL. The channel says it will document Raunigk's journey during her pregnancy and after the babies' births. (Read why a 46-year-old woman's baby set a record.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
