Photo: RTL
Granny has children: Annegret expects quadruplets
Annegret Raunigk got her first child Antje at the age of 22, today 44 years old. "In the past, I never wanted to have children, " says the Berliner. "But that has changed." Four years after Antje's birth, Ellen came to Wet, a year later Bjarne.
This was followed by Torben (today 36), Lieven (35), Tjard (34), Inken (32), Svea (29), Lennart (28), Velten (27), Ingvar (26), Auda (22) and Lelia ( 9). There are 13 children in total. "They were all not planned, but I still wish for them.", Says the single parent. Your children have five different fathers. Her great love was not there.
The 65-year-old lives in her house in Spandau, on the outskirts of Berlin. Except for her youngest daughter, her children are already grown up, have children themselves. Annegret is 7 times grandmother, her oldest grandson is 27 - and as old as her own son Ingvar.
At an elementary school Annegret teaches English and Russian. Yet. Annegret retires this year. She is also 5 months pregnant - with quadruplets . In a few weeks Annegret goes into maternity leave . The babies should be born in the summer.
Annegret is probably the oldest pregnant woman in Germany . Once the babies are born, the Berliner is even the oldest quadruplet mother in the world. Four-child births are rare. In Germany, there are about six each year. The birth rate is falling nationwide. An average German gets about 1.4 children in her life.
Naturally, the grandmother did not become pregnant anymore. For 1.5 years, Annegret drove regularly to the Ukraine to be artificially fertilized. It did not work right away. Four oocytes were last used, a sperm donor added and hormonal treatments were prescribed to allow the fertilized oocytes to nest in the uterus. In Germany that would not have been possible. The norm is two oocytes, a maximum of three.
"If the opportunity is there, you can also use it, " says Annegret about her decision. That all four ova would develop - this is what the pensioner did not expect in spe. "That was a shock for me, " says the 65-year-old. She now had to make a serious decision: Did she want to give birth to all four? "You could give the children to foster parents or give them up for adoption, or you could have them reduced, " explains Annegret. 'Reduce' means killing some of the embryos in the womb to increase the survival of the rest. "I had to think about it first."
Annegret decided against it. Against the reduction, against an adoption release, against foster parents. Until now the pregnancy is without complications. She has never had a caesarean section, her 13 children were all born healthy, all on a natural path - from fertilization to birth. This time it is different. Quadruplets must be taken on average at 29 weeks by caesarean section. They often weigh less than a kilogram. The premature birth is considered critical. There is a risk of cerebral hemorrhage, eye and intestinal problems and shortness of breath due to the immature lung. The babies spend the first weeks or months in the neonatal intensive care unit.
Genetically, Annegret's quadruplets are alien to her belly. Yet it is her stomach, her children, her decision. "Anyone can live the way he wants to - and I'll live the way I want, " says the 65-year-old. Had she wanted to adopt her children, she would have been denied her age - at least in Germany. If Annegret's children are of age, she will be 83 years old. "I expect to stay healthy and fit, " Annegret said. She has enough experience in terms of organization, that is not new to her. She recalls the upbringing of her 13 children: "I found my sons quite uncomplicated in puberty, and more complicated afterwards. And the girls were sometimes exhausting. " The quadruplets will grow up without a father. But many children whose mothers are younger do that too.
By her own admission, she feels good. She is aware that pregnancies are always riskier, the older the woman is. "I talked to my gynecologist about it, who then said: 'You are already 65', but also: 'You are still quite fit. Now you have to know that yourself. "" Your body. Your decision. Multiple births or not. Her nest, Lelia, would love to have a little sibling. Annegret could not refuse this wish to her daughter. She finally loves her children. All.
Already at the birth of Lelia - born in 2005 - the doctors had spoken of a risk pregnancy. Lelia was born healthy. The then Federal President Horst Köhler even took over the honorary sponsorship for the girl that was born by a 55-year-old woman. It was a little sensation. Pregnancies in women over the age of 40 are not a problem today with modern reproductive medicine - they are risky anyway. Disabilities, miscarriages and premature births are more common than among women under 35.
Annegrets gynecologist, dr. Kai Hertwig, counts on the omnivorous omnivore with a successful birth: "So far, the pregnancy makes no difference between the body of a younger or older. Of course, we also look internally that the older cardiovascular system can do it all. We all have little or no experience with such a pregnant woman at that age, but at the moment this is going very well.
"Prof. Holger Stepan, Head of Obstetrics at the University Hospital Leipzig, meanwhile, expresses concerns about the news magazine Focus Online: "The 65-year-old body is definitely not geared to carry out a pregnancy, not of a child and certainly not of quadruplets." Dr. Kai Hertwig countered: " Four-sided pregnancies are always a high burden" - regardless of the age of the mother.
Stepan indicates an increased risk of hypertension, pregnancy poisoning or diabetes. "The woman can get into a life-threatening condition." says Stapan. Kai Hertwig, on the other hand, emphasizes the relevance of the mother's attitude: "What is important is the high level of motivation and positive psychological mood that she has, so that this also works optimally.
"And then there are the neighbors. They talk. Have moral concerns: Pregnant at 65? Does it have to be that way? "How do you have to be with 65?", Replies Annegret self-confidently. "Obviously, you always have to cliche something. I think that you have to decide for yourself. And in my opinion you should not be too persuaded by other people. They could do it the way they want, and I'll keep it as I see fit. "She does not value the talk of her neighbors, her critics. "I think that if someone just gossip and talk about others, then he himself has no interesting life."
Annegret has an interesting life. She stands by her opinion, her attitude. She has no problem with being open about her. In 2005, she visited Günther Jauch's annual review "People, Images, Emotions" on RTL. The occasion was Leila's birth on a natural path and that of a woman who has already cracked the 50 years. The current pregnancy again attracts attention. The RTL magazine "Extra" accompanies Annegret through the birth. Today at 22:15 clock the first part will be broadcast. The moderation is done by Birgit Schrowange, who calls herself a late mother because she gave birth to her second son Laurin at the age of 42. Today, Schrowange is 56 years old and wonders: "For me it is difficult to imagine how this multiple mother wants to get fourlings again in grandmotherhood. I also wonder how she can meet the needs of her adolescent children. "Schrowange still says positively about Annegret:" I have experienced her as a smart and very likeable woman. "
According to the Federal Statistical Office, the average age of mothers in Germany was around 24 when their first child was born in 1965. In 2013 already at 30.8 years. Ascending trend. Perhaps Annegret is only ahead of our time - far ahead ...
Photos: iStock
