Being a mother is a very precious and unique role that has existed for as long as our species.

One of those life-altering events that might sometimes be unexpected and other times the consequence of years of patient waiting is becoming a mother. One thing we can all agree on is that it is always a blessing, regardless of its form.

Generally speaking, none of us can foresee when we will become parents. If that’s what we want, we can try our hardest to make it happen, but life has always been unexpected and always will be.

Generally speaking, none of us can foresee when we will become parents. If that’s what we want, we can try our hardest to make it happen, but life has always been unexpected and always will be.

Some women give birth to children when still in their teens, making them young mothers. Other others become pregnant later in life. Unfortunately, some people have issues that could prevent them from ever having a child of their own.

There is, of course, no right or wrong approach. Just as all mothers should be honored for the incredible journey they and their bodies take to create another human being, so too should all infants be acknowledged.

Bousada de Lara, Maria del CarmenWhen Maria del Carmen Bousada de Lara gave birth, she was the oldest mother in the world.

Posted on Sunday, June 4, 2017 by Top10BD

However, certain women, such as Maria Carmen del Bousada of Cadiz, Spain, are ridiculed and occasionally even persecuted for their choices about when and how to become parents.

Maria stated in 2006 that when she informed her family that she was expecting twins, they were taken aback.

Why? Because she was 66 years old.

The record of the oldest living woman belongs to María del Carmen Bousada Lara de España, who was 66 years old and 358 days old in 2006.

La Arboleda Residencial posted on Wednesday, April 24, 2013.

Maria, a retired store employee, reportedly sold her home to pay for IVF treatment, which allowed her to become pregnant in spite of her advanced age. She allegedly misled doctors at a California fertility clinic by claiming to be 55.

Maria believed that everyone should be free to decide when they want to start a family rather than feeling compelled to do so by social pressure or other people’s expectations.

Diagnosed with cancer
As per The Guardian newspaper, she said at the time: “Often circumstances put you between a rock and a hard place, and maybe things shouldn’t have been done in the way they were done, but that was the only way to achieve the thing I had always dreamed of.”

Of course, she was not universally accepted.

Her own family members were the main ones who criticized her, calling her selfish. Maria even claimed that she had kept her pregnancy a secret for a while and that when she finally told her family, they assumed she was kidding.

Maria became the oldest mother in the world when she gave birth to two healthy twin boys, Christian and Pau, in 2006.

Sadly, though, she would not live to witness their adulthood. The new mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer only six months after giving birth.

“They’re still babies, so I haven’t told them,” she said at the time. “They’re too young for these things.”

Maria Carmen del Bousada children
As a result, Maria’s family felt compelled to intervene and help her raise Christian and Pau. After only a few brief years with her boys, the retired mother died in 2009.

Maria’s brother Ricardo commented: “I think she has done this too late in life… but now they are here. We love these beautiful boys.”

In addition, Pilar Pinto, a local of Cadiz, where Maria resided, gave an update on Christian and Pau’s lives.

“They are being well taken care of and are in great shape,” he said. “I see them here often in town.”

Pinto added: “God didn’t let her enjoy her children very much. He should have given her more time.”

Regarding her choice to have children later in life, Maria stayed steadfast until the very end.

What a lovely tale. I’m not sure about you, but I believe that every woman should have the freedom to choose when she wants to have children.

How do you feel about Maria choosing to become a mother in her 60s? Please share your opinions with us in the Facebook comments section.