She became a mother to a beautiful baby boy at the age of 62, making her the oldest woman in Britain to give birth at that age.
The child psychologist, Patti Farrant, also known professionally as Patricia Rashbrook, gave birth to her son, J.J., via Caesarean section in 2006. He was conceived through fertility treatments.
Farrant has three adult children from a prior marriage, while her husband John, aged 60 and working as an education management consultant, welcomed his first child with her.
Patricia sought assistance from a reproductive health clinic due to difficulties conceiving naturally. Despite infertility often being challenging for women over 40 in the UK, Patricia and John found help through a controversial Italian expert known for his unconventional methods.
“He is adorable, and seeing him for the first time was beyond words,” she told the Daily Mail at that time. “Having been through so much to have him, we are overjoyed. His birth was absolutely wonderful and deeply moving for both of us.”
As per a report from The Independent, Dr. Patricia Rashbrook reportedly spent £50,000 for treatment with the controversial Italian fertility expert Dr. Severino Antinori. Anti-abortion groups were upset about it, but Dr. Rashbrook and her husband, John Farrant, who was 61 at the time, said they had thought about the effects of becoming parents at their age.
In a public statement, the couple said, “We are pleased to acknowledge this pregnancy, notwithstanding its unusual and potentially controversial aspects.”
“We wish to emphasise that this has not been an endeavour undertaken lightly or without courage, that a great deal of thought has been given to planning and providing for the child’s present and future well-being, medically, socially and materially.”
The elderly couple reportedly traveled to Rome to receive treatment from Dr. Antinori at his clinic there. Although, they declined to talk about the treatment, it’s improbable that Dr. Rashbrook used her own eggs. Instead, she might have undergone IVF using donated eggs and sperm, along with hormone treatment.
They continued, “We have greatly valued the warm support shown to us by family, friends, and colleagues. We are very happy to have given life to an already much-loved baby, and our wish now is to give him the peace and security he needs.”
Dr. Rashbrook, who had a 22-year-old son and a 26-year-old daughter from her previous marriage, worked as a consultant child psychiatrist at the East Sussex Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service. Her first husband passed away ten years ago, and it’s known that she married Mr. Farrant, an academic who wrote a book on 16th-century maritime history not long ago. They lived in a Georgian townhouse in Lewes, East Sussex.
According to the couple’s friends, Dr. Rashbrook’s adult children were pleased with their mother’s pregnancy.
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Sources: NBC News – Daily Mail – The Independent
