This is Elizabeth Adeney - Britain's oldest mother-to-be. At 66, she is four years older than the previous record holder. Mrs Adeney, who is around eight months pregnant, is believed to have undergone IVF abroad because most British clinics will not treat women over the age of 50. Friends say that the divorcee, a wealthy businesswoman who is still working a five-day week, is in perfect health and looking forward to the birth of what is thought to be her first child. But her pregnancy will reignite the debate over late motherhood and the ability of science to enable women in their 50s and 60s to become mothers. Mrs Adeney will be just short of her 80th birthday when her child becomes a teenager. A friend said she had been desperate to conceive for years. Last year, she travelled to the Ukraine, where a controversial IVF clinic has helped countless women get pregnant using donor eggs and sperm.The friend added: 'She was desperate for a child. She was over the moon when she learned last year that she was pregnant and has been quite open about it - it's not the sort of thing she can hide. 'Elizabeth has had a pretty good pregnancy. She has been very well, considering her age - I'm amazed how she keeps going. 'She does get up a little later in the mornings than she used to and sometimes spends an hour or two at home before going to work but she is still at her business Monday to Friday.'Mrs Adeney, the managing director of a firm in Mildenhall, Suffolk, which produces plastic and textile products, is described by friends as 'very bright and single-minded'. Yesterday, she declined to discuss her condition. More after the break...
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