China's Oldest Mother Had Twins At 60, Now A Social Media Influencer At 76

A 76-year-old woman once recognised as China's oldest mother of twins has returned to the spotlight after a photographic series documenting her life won an international award, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported. The woman named Sheng Hailin, from Anhui province, gave birth to twin daughters, Zhizhi and Huihui, in 2010 at the age of 60 through in vitro fertilisation. At the time, she became the oldest woman in China known to have given birth.

Sheng's path to late motherhood began with loss. In 2009, her only daughter died of carbon monoxide poisoning in her 20s, along with her newlywed husband.

"To survive and free myself of the loneliness, I decided to have another child in my old age," Sheng told China Daily.

She then underwent IVF treatment in 2010 at a military hospital in Hefei.

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High-risk pregnancy

The pregnancy came with complications and challenges as Sheng suffered severe swelling, hypertension, high uric acid levels, and heavy bleeding during the pregnancy.

On May 25, 2010, she delivered twin girls by Caesarean section. ut raising them was a challenge; hence, she travelled across China giving lectures on nutrition and health. The income helped pay for schooling and extra lessons in piano and dance.

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Now 76, Sheng has become a social media influencer with nearly one million followers on Douyin. She shares videos offering solace and encouragement to bereaved parents rebuilding their lives after loss.

Her husband passed away in 2023. Her twin daughters, now 15, have become her support system.