A 60-year-old woman has given birth at the Kaplan Medical Center in Rehovot to a healthy baby girl, Channel 10 reported this morning (Tuesday). The girl weighed 2.2 kilograms (4.8 pounds).

Dr. Yael Naaman, one of the doctors who oversaw the birth, noted that “the baby was born healthy and strong, and has been passed to a child specialist for further treatment.”

The labor, however, was fraught with challenges. The little girl was born through a Cesarian section operationm after doctors identified toxemia of the pregnancy. In addition, a malignant tumor found in the womb of the mother which the doctors successfully removed.

“The significance of pregnancy toxemia is that blood pressure goes up, proteins are released, the liver starts to function abnormally and pulse becomes irregular; these are things which can endanger the mother and fetus,” Dr. Naaman explained.

“The mother is recovering, is in constant contact with medical staff, and is close to her baby whenever possible,” she added.

The mother, who wished to remain anonymous, thanked the medical staff for their support throughout the birth. “They calmed me down. The nurse sat with me through the whole operation, talked with me, wiped my face and encouraged me. Everybody was smiling.

“And the big happiness of my life was when the staff showed me my baby for whom I had waited so many years,” she concluded.

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