World's oldest mother dies of cancer just three years after giving birth to twin

Quite what the future holds for her boys was unclear last night. Miss Bousada's brother Ricardo said: 'The twins are doing brilliantly. They are very well.' He said the twins would be looked after 'in or close to the nucleus of the family'. Miss Bousada, who has never been married, decided to have children after her mother died in 2005. Shortly after the birth she said: 'I have wanted to be a mother all my life, but I never had the opportunity, or met the right man.' But her words did not prevent the criticism that followed. Rafael Bernabeu, of Spain's National Association of Assisted Reproduction Clinics, described the birth as 'outside of all logic'.

He said: 'It is illogical not only because of the risk to the mother but also because the children will inevitably lose there mother at a young age.

'Those children will become orphans during their adolescence.' Ultimately death came even more quickly for Miss Bousada. In Britain, as in Spain, there is no absolute age limit for IVF, but the NHS will not fund it for women over 40. In practice, most private fertility clinics will not treat women over 50 - the average age of the menopause when they stop producing eggs. Last night Miss Bousada's death led to renewed criticism of the availability of fertility treatment to older women. Josephine Quintavalle, of the Comment on Reproductive Ethics group, said: 'Our first priority should be our duty to the children and we should have the courage to say no.'

Norman Wells, of Family and Youth Concern, said: 'While it is true that even young parents can and do sometimes tragically die and leave their children orphans, there is obviously a far greater risk when a post-menopausal woman deliberately sets out to bring children into the world without a father. 'Nature itself teaches us that there are seasons in a woman's life and that children are meant to have both a mother and a father. When we tamper with the natural order, children will always suffer as a result.' Adriana Iliescu, a Romanian who gave birth at 66 in 2005, said she was pained to hear of Miss Bousada's death. 'It is a great sadness when kids are orphans but civil society will help these children,' she said.