56-year-old New York woman gives birth to twins

A New York woman delivered twins by Caesarian section Tuesday, three days before her 57th birthday.

Motivational speaker Aleta St. James, sister of Guardian Angels leader and radio host Curtis Sliwa, is believed to be one of only a few women in the world to deliver twins past age 55.

Francesca, weighing 5 pounds, 12 ounces, and Gian, weighing 5 pounds, 3 ounces, are her first children.

St. James, who is single, became pregnant via in vitro fertilization with donor eggs and an ex-boyfriend’s sperm, says her infertility doctor, Jane Miller. Miller says she transferred only two embryos – considered the optimal number for achieving a single-baby pregnancy – into St. James’ uterus.

Women’s fertility begins to decline around age 30 and drops dramatically after age 40, necessitating the use of donor eggs from a younger woman.

Many infertility clinics will not treat women older than 50 or 55.

The American Society for Reproductive Medicine’s Ethics Committee, which last visited the subject of postmenopausal motherhood in 1996, concluded: “Infertility should remain the natural characteristic of menopause,” so “postmenopausal pregnancy should be discouraged.”

Miller says she generally advises against women as old as St. James – her oldest patient ever – getting pregnant.

But St. James, whom she started treating at age 53, is in excellent physical condition and has a large support network, Miller says.

“I can’t use chronological age,” says Miller, director of North Hudson IVF in Englewood Cliffs, N.J.

“My judgments are based on the medical findings and history of the patient.”