Unlikely mom
The week's news at a glance.
New York
Three days shy of her 57th birthday, a New York woman this week became the oldest American ever to give birth to twins. Aleta St. James, a motivational speaker, said she had always wanted children, but her career kept her too busy. Three years ago she decided the time had come. She tried to get pregnant naturally, then underwent $25,000 worth of fertility treatments. Finally, she was successfully implanted with a donor egg fertilized by an ex-boyfriend. St. James, the sister of Guardian Angels leader Curtis Sliwa, brushed aside the suggestion it was unwise to have children so late in life. “What you lack in energy,” she said, “you make up for in wisdom.”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
What should you be stockpiling for 'World War Three'?
In the Spotlight Britons advised to prepare after the EU tells its citizens to have an emergency kit just in case
By Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, The Week UK Published
-
Carnivore diet: why people are eating only meat
The Explainer 'Meatfluencers' are taking social media by storm but experts warn meat-only diets have health consequences
By Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, The Week UK Published
-
Scientists want to fight malaria by poisoning mosquitoes with human blood
Under the radar Drugging the bugs
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published