Twins at 54 for the mother who didn't think eight was enough

By Claire Ellicott

Extended family: Karen and Roger Johnston, centre, with children (clockwise from top left) Amy, 26, Aiden, 17, Jemma, 28, Willow, two, Daniel, 33, Scott, 27, Bethany, 14, and Joseph, 13. Karen's twins, a boy and girl, are due in July


At the age of 54, Karen Johnston could be counting down the days until her eight children have all flown the nest. Instead, she's having two more of them.

Thanks to IVF treatment in a foreign clinic, Mrs Johnston is now six months pregnant with twins - 33 years after she had her first child.

A self-confessed baby addict, she was devastated when she went through the menopause six years ago and was told that she was too old to have IVF in Britain.

So in 2007, she went to the Czech Republic with her husband Roger, 55, a car production worker, to undergo treatment with his sperm and donor eggs. It was a success and she gave birth to a daughter, Willow.

But feeling her family was still incomplete, Mrs Johnston, of Bicester, Oxfordshire, decided to return to the Czech Republic and have IVF again with donor eggs.

She is now expecting a twin boy and girl in June. 'All I've ever wanted to be is a mother and after every child I've soon found myself wanting to have another baby,' she said.

The age limit set for IVF by the Health Service is 39, though private clinics treat women up to the age of 50 and in many other countries the limit is higher.

Britain's oldest mother, Elizabeth Adeney, 66, of Suffolk, went to an overseas clinic to have IVF.

Mrs Johnston, a housewife, had Daniel, 33, Jemma, 28, Scott, 27, and Amy, 26, while her husband was a sergeant in the Army.

But over the next eight years, she had three miscarriages. Doctors told her it was just one of those things. 'At night I couldn't sleep for tears,' she said.

Although she endured a further two miscarriages, she then had Aiden, 17, Bethany, 14 and Joseph, 13. And then Willow, now two.

Mrs Johnston admits that having babies has been something of an addiction throughout her life. 'I love the smell of them and the whole experience of being pregnant, and having children around the house is just wonderful,' she said.

'Having young children is a privilege and it gives me a sense of purpose in life.'


source: dailymail