Annegret Raunigk, a 65-year-old German schoolteacher, who has 13 children from five fathers, is now pregnant with quadruplets conceived through in vitro fertilization. The last time she gave birth was 10 years ago.

When Raunigk’s nine-year-old daughter asked for a new sibling, that is when she started thinking seriously about becoming pregnant again. If successful, she could officially be crowned the oldest woman to spawn quadruplets. But she would not be the oldest woman to give birth. That title is held by Maria del Carmen Bousada Lara, a Spanish woman who, in late 2006, birthed twin boys just before her 67th birthday. Guinness World Records states that Carmen Bousada Lara was at first rejected for an in vitro fertilization treatment but then, lying, declared that she actually was 55 years old, not 65. Maria del Carmen Bousada Lara died of cancer just a couple years later, after having successfully brought her twin boys into the world.

Holger Stepan, an obstetrician with the University of Leipzig, pointed out that pregnancies of women above 45 are generally considered high risk while those “over 60 (are) naturally extreme.” He said that 65-year-old bodies are not intended to birth a single child, let alone quadruplets.

After multiple attempts, Raunigk achieved pregnancy with eggs that were donated and then fertilized outside Germany. As for critics such as Stepan, she declared that such decisions are personal. “One must decide that for oneself. How does one have to behave at 65?” she asked.

Raunigk described herself as “rather spontaneous” and not a planner. “And children keep me young,” she said.

Annegret Raunigk teaches English and Russian in Berlin and is approaching retirement. Her children range in age nine to 44, along with seven grandchildren. She is due to give birth to her quadruplets in a couple months and, thus far, her pregnancy has not seen any major complications.