A 66-year-old woman gives birth to 10th child, and she says she conceived without IVF

(NBC News) A 66-year-old woman in Germany gave birth to her 10th child on March 19.

Alexandra Hildebrandt, the mother, tells TODAY.com that she did not use fertility drugs, and had no difficulty conceiving.

The baby, a boy named Philipp, was delivered through a cesarean section at Charité Hospital in Berlin. Hildebrandt says he weighed 7 pounds, 13 ounces, and was “healthy.”

Philipp joins his siblings: Svitlana, 46; Artiom, 36; Elisabeth, 12; Maximilian, 12; Alexandra, 10; Leopold, 8; Anna, 7; Maria, 4; Katharina, 2.

“A big family is not only something wonderful, but above all, it is important for raising children properly,” Hildebrant, who works as a museum director, writes in a email to TODAY.

Asked if friends and family were concerned about her having a child at her age, Hildebrandt replied, “I have only received positive feedback.”

In an interview with the German newspaper Bild, Hildebrandt shared that she doesn’t smoke or drink, and has never used contraceptives.

“I eat very healthily, swim regularly for an hour, walk for two hours,” she said.

Hildebrandt’s OB/GYN, Dr. Wolfgang Henrich, told the publication that it was a “largely uncomplicated pregnancy.”

Dr. Brian Levine, a practice director at New York City’s fertility clinic CCRM, tells TODAY.com that the biological likelihood of 66-year-old conceiving without medical intervention is “incredibly low.” It’s also dangerous for the individual carrying the baby, according to Levine, who says risks include elevated rates of hypertension, gestational diabetes and preterm labor.

Additionally, the risk for chromosomal abnormalities, such as Down syndrome, increases significantly with age.

Levine, who does not treat Hildebrandt, notes that it’s possible she hasn’t reached menopause if she has polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a hormonal disorder that affects ovaries.

In 2023, 70-year-old Safina Namukwaya welcomed twins, a boy and a girl, in Uganda. To conceive, she turned to in vitro fertilization with donor eggs and her husband’s sperm.

Two days after giving birth, Namukwaya told TODAY through an interpreter that she was feeling “great.”

“Some might argue that 70 years is old, but God decided that I get to have twins at 70,” she said. “There is no one that can put a limit on God’s authority and power.”