Woman, 61, becomes N. Macedonia's oldest to give birth

A 61-year-old became the oldest woman to give birth in North Macedonia, health officials in the Balkan country said Tuesday.

The new mother, who was not named, was a recipient of in vitro fertilisation, according to the director at the Skopje's University Clinic of Gynaecology and Obstetrics Irena Aleksioska Papestiev.

"The birth of the baby Petar by a 61-year-old patient shows that there are no more limits in the world of medicine," Papestiev told reporters during a press conference.

Papestiev added that doctors closely followed the patient during her pregnancy, saying she was diagnosed with hypertension and diabetes.

Papestiev said the patient had undergone 10 separate in vitro treatments in the past.

In North Macedonia, there is no age limit for woman using in vitro treatments.

The mother and newborn baby were released from hospital on Tuesday, according to officials, who said the father was 65.

According to official statistics, North Macedonia's fertility rate in 2023 was 1.48 births per woman.

Since declaring independence in 1991, North Macedonia has seen vast chunks of its people emigrating amid a stagnating economy.

The country has just 1.8 million inhabitants, a drop of nearly 10 percent in less than two decades, according to data from the last census conducted in 2021.