Woman, 56, makes history with twins

A NEWBORN brother and sister were nestled in a New York hospital bed with their 56-year-old mother yesterday, a day after their history-making arrival.

Aleta St James, 56, who underwent a Caesarean section at Mount Sinai Medical Centre on Friday, is believed to be the oldest American woman to give birth to twins.

Francesca and Gian were conceived through in vitro fertilisation using donor eggs. Ms St James, a motivational speaker, helped her brother, radio talk show host Curtis Sliwa, found the street vigilante group Guardian Angels in the 1970s.

The oldest American to give birth is Arceli Keh, of California, who had a daughter in 1996 at age 63.

Statistics show 263 children were born in the US to women aged between 50 and 54 in 2002.