Dr. Patricia Rashbrook - Essay Example

 Recently, Dr. Patricia Rashbrook, consultant child psychiatrist with the East Sussex Child and Adolescent mental Health Services, has been in the news for being UK’s oldest expectant mother. She is seven months pregnant at the age of 63. She has two children both in their 20s from her first husband who died almost a decade ago (as reported by The Independent). It is supposed to be scandalous for a woman to mother a child at this age but late fatherhood exists in nature. Nevertheless, her children support her wish. Patricia and her husband, Professor Farrar, are financially secure and have responsible jobs. This essay will examine the medical, social, and ethical arguments concerning Dr. Rashbrook’s motherhood at this age. Bakewell of The Independent (May 05, 2006), reports that menopause was supposed to be the end of motherhood but that theory does not hold good any more. Dr. Severino Antinori, the well known Italian doctor, has changed the orthodox concepts of parenting. Women over 50 turn to him when they are desperate for a child. There are several instances when post-menopausal births have taken place for instance that of John the Baptist, cites Bakewell. Fertility is the result of globalised information and scientific developments, which sees parents hunting across the world to fulfill their dreams. Dr. Antonori has capitalized on this trend. He works for the post-menopausal women and attempts at human cloning. The Italian press calls him the ‘father of the impossible children’ (Boseley, The Guardian, May 05, 2006). Law in Italy has been tightened after Dr. Antinori implanted a donated and fertilized egg in 62-year old Italian woman in the 1990s reports Boseley. Ethical issues have been raise but life expectancy in general has increased and women live longer than men do. At the same time birth rate has fallen. NHS does not permit IVF treatment over 50 but in view of decline in birth rate, NHS may be forced to give this issue another thought. In practice, doctors in UK generally do not treat a woman over 45 as she is incapable of producing her own eggs after that. Evans (The Times, May 04, 2006) explains that doctors take a healthy egg from a young woman that is placed in a glass dish with about 18000 sperm for about 18 hours. After fertilization the egg is implanted in the woman with a catheter and pregnancy continues in the normal way. There are no rules preventing fertility clinics in the UK treating a couple in their 60s but doctors refuse on grounds of the risks to the health of the mother and concerns for child welfare, says Boseley, Health Editor, The Guardian (May 05, 2006). It is considered ethically wrong because there is an acute shortage of donor eggs in UK but critics forget that Dr. Rashbrook travelled all the way to Soviet Republic for her treatment. The UK clinics may use discretion who to give the donor eggs to as there is a shortage but Patricia has had her IVF treatment abroad. Medically there remain several risks and disadvantages for late child birth. Dr. Rashbrook’s pregnancy too is not normal, as apparently she has spent a fortune when she approached the famous Italian doctor for this pregnancy. She was implanted with an embryo from a donated egg but it has been fertilized by her husband’s sperm, clarifies Dr. Stuttaford to The Times (May 04, 2006). Mothers over 40 have twice the risk of stillbirths and ectopic pregnancies, says Bakewell. Embryo can damaged by this age and miscarriages are likely. Woman’s stamina declines after a certain age. Boseley voices the opinion of Richard Kennedy, spokesperson for the British fertility Society, who endorses the view that natural menopause occurs at 50 and after that, women have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. They can even suffer from high blood pressure and damage to kidneys says Dr. Thomas Stuttaford. If caesarian section is opted for, delivery should not be a problem. Boseley further quotes Dr. Antinori, who says Patricia has another 20-25 years of life, as her biological age is not above 45, she is healthy and slim, and hence chances of risks during pregnancy and childbirth are negligible or just as any other pregnancy. Socially, a lot of arguments from different quarters arise. Italian culture accommodates late child and joint families are still prevalent. Hence, in case of the death of the parents, the family takes care of the child in such cases but UK has no such tradition and family sizes are small but both Patricia and her husband enjoy robust health, this will not be a constraint. Bakewell reminds of The Child Act of 1990 always claims that any decision should be in ‘the best interest of the child’. There are arguments that the child may be embarrassed to have mother of his granny’s age and conversely, such old parents may not be aware of how young people feel and behave. This argument in this particular instance is irrelevant because Dr. Rashbrook is a consultant child psychiatrist and knows her interests well. Besides, as Bakewell argues, how about drunkards and drug addicts who parent a child? To that extent Dr. Rashbrook is an educated, qualified and a responsible person. The child here is assured of love of two doting parents. There are numerous instances when parents die in accidents while the children are still young. This is a matter of chance and fate of the child. Critics, however, of the same age group, narrate their experience as grandmothers, and conclude that this is a wrong step taken by the couple. The pro-lifers, reports Pavia, (The Times, May 05, 2006) are against the pregnancy, as they fear that the child could be without the mother or father in the crucial years of adolescence. People already pity the unborn child saying that he would carry the stigma of an ancient mother. An adolescent psychotherapist, Margaret Waddell, feels that the two-generational divide could lead to a struggle in accepting the values of his parents, according to The Times (May 05, 2006). There is outrage and disgust at this news. Another child psychologist, Linda Blair, feels the rate at which the children are growing fat and unhealthy in front of computers, mothers would outlive the children (The Times, May 05, 2006). She does not take the argument that the child would have psychological problems in acknowledging or accepting his parents. Twenty years ago, this would have been a risk as life expectancy was poor. By the time that this child reaches the age of being bullied, the world would have changed again. Others too agree that this child will be lucky as parents are financially sound, they can always hire help for physical work and the parents can give the mental and emotional support to the child. The children of Patricia have accepted and are looking forward to the new child and hence the child would have four doting adults in his life who care for him. Older fathers are known to enjoy being second time fathers as normally in their twenties or thirties they are hardly able to devote time to the children. From that angle, it would be extremely nice for the child as well as the parents to share and strengthen this bond. The greatest advantage would be as many agree that having a baby at a young age does not give you the opportunity to really enjoy parenting and give the best that you want. There are pressures of survival and one is not mature enough to know and understand the needs of a child. It is ultimately the grandmother that children turn to, for their emotional needs, according to Vine (The Times, May 05, 2006). She provides the consistency and stability; she understands dilemmas; she knows about life. In this case, Dr. Raskbrook and her husband are at an age where they have seen and understood life; would enjoy parenting and find contentment. The society always maintains double-standards (The Times, May 05, 2006). The man is showered with congratulations while the woman is called the selfish unnatural old crone. This is the world. The couple, on the other hand, are in love and extremely happy to have this child. Evans reports of UK’s oldest mother gave birth to her son at 60 in 1997 and the world’s oldest mother is a Romanian who had a daughter at the age of 66 last year. The concerns and voices of sociologists and doctors that a child would be embarrassed to have parents in their 80s when he or she is at the university, seem baseless as this is absolutely a personal matter. Parents are parents no matter how old or young. Boseley says Dr. Rashbrook reiterates that it is absolutely a planned pregnancy from responsible parents, who love each other intensely. It has taken a great deal of thought and courage to arrive at such a decision. She has been called selfish but then who is not selfish? Don’t all mothers bear a child for their own happiness? Happiness and contentment in life mean differently to different people and this is their way of fulfillment. All the concerns about health, age, and ability to provide for the child in this case are baseless and there is no need for others to be worked up. Medically, the mother is absolutely healthy and fit to bear a child; ethically she has not done anything wrong because she has not deprived any one from UK where donor eggs are scarce. As parents, they would be able to give the best and in fact at their age, even better than most young parents can. Dr. Rashbrook and her husband will not have a rough time but in fact are looking forward to the wonderful moment. References: Bakewell J, Get used to these older mothers, The Independent, May 05, 2006 Blair L, The Times, May 05, 2006 Boseley S, Couple hit back at Critics who question motives, The Guardian, May 05, 2006 Evans I, Oldest British mother-to-be, at 63, The Times, May 04, 2006 Pavia W, The Times, May 05, 2006 Stuttaford Dr. T, Getting pregnant not the end of problems, The Times, May 04, 2006 Vine S, Of Age and Wisdom, The Times, May 05, 2006 Read More