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Britain’s oldest first-time mum admits regrets

Copyright: Rex

She made headlines in 2008 when she became a mum for the first time at age 57 following IVF treatment, but four years on Sue Tollefsen has revealed she now believes it was a mistake to wait so long, and wishes she’d had daughter Freya sooner.

In an interview with UK magazine Closer, Miss Tollefsen said that despite initially defending her decision to become a mother so late in a life, a recent bout of illness has hammered home the reality that she might not be there to see Freya grow up.

At the time Freya was born, Miss Tollefsen said her partner Nick Mayer, who is 11 years her junior, would be around to care for Freya during all of her childhood, but after contracting a debilitating blood infection last December, she began to realise just how much she wanted to be there for her daughter.

‘I was so ill, I literally thought I was dying,’ she told Closer. ‘I kept thinking about Freya – and for the first time, I realised I might not be there for her any more.

‘It’s so true that you learn from your mistakes, and my mistake was not having her sooner.’

Miss Tollefsen became pregnant in June 2007 using a donor egg and Mr Mayer’s sperm after spending more than £15,000 (AUD$22,000) on IVF treatment in Russia. She was not eligible for IVF in Britain because of her age.

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Freya was born in March 2008 by caesarean section, and Miss Tollefsen said that at the time, she had no concerns about her age.

‘I was 57 when I had Freya, but I felt very energetic and able to cope,’ she said. ‘I thought I would feel fit and healthy forever.’

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But the couple faced a backlash from health professionals and other parents who considered they were selfish having a child given Miss Tollefsen’s age.

‘It made me very vulnerable,’ Miss Tollefsen told Closer. ’Once I took Freya to see a health visitor and she thought Freya was my granddaughter. I was so embarrassed.’

The couple separated last year, and Miss Tollefsen admits to finding it difficult being a single mum.

‘At my age, I get exhausted easily – especially since I’ve been ill’, she said.

Freya spends every other weekend with Mr Mayer, and he also looked after her while Miss Tollefsen was ill.

‘If I’m completely honest, my experience has taught me that 50 should probably be the cut-off limit for having children,’ she said.

‘But, until you have them, it’s almost impossible to appreciate that. I hope I live to see Freya go to university and get married and have a family of her own. That’s my only wish now.’

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