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Wednesday 24 Sep 2014

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Being Mum: Too Old To Be A Mum?

Sue and Freya, who feature in Too Old To Be A Mum?

Leading the Being Mum series of one-off documentaries, Too Old To Be a Mum? follows the story of Sue Tollefsen who, at 57, became the UK's oldest mum two years ago.

Now approaching 60, she is considering the possibilities of having a second baby.

Because British clinics don't treat women over 50, Sue had IVF treatment in Eastern Europe. Her daughter Freya is now 18 months old.

"I know other people are looking forward to retirement but I am looking forward to kindergarten and infant school," she says.

Despite her own joy at becoming a mother, the experience has been marred by negative comments from younger mothers which she admits left her "bruised and very very unhappy."

Lauren Cohen, aged 63, lives in New Jersey with her five-year-old daughter and three-year-old twins. She cannot manage without the help of her husband Frank, younger by 21 years, and their full-time nanny. Because of her arthritic hands, the day-to-day care of her children is difficult.

Despite going through the menopause 20 years ago, Rajo Devi, aged 70, has been successfully breastfeeding her baby. In the village in India where she lives with her 72-year-old husband, Bala Ram, attitudes are very different and the whole community steps in to help the family.

Too Old To Be A Mum? – Tuesday 26 January, 10.35-11.15pm, ´óÏó´«Ã½ One – asks whether these women's decisions to defy nature were wise. And, with biological boundaries being pushed ever further and the absence of any age limit on IVF, what age is too old to be a mum?

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