After Losing Her Daughter, NH Teacher Has Baby Boy at 57 Years Old

A New Hampshire teacher has become one of the oldest women in the United States to give birth.

Barbara Higgins is 57 years old and just had a baby boy on Saturday.

"We've beat the odds," said her husband, Kenny Banzhoff. "I'm so proud of her, she's been a trooper through the whole thing."

As a lifelong athlete, Higgins says her third pregnancy was easy, thanks to good genes and an active lifestyle.

She says she was lifting weights until the day she went into labor.

"All that crazy CrossFit stuff that you hear about," she said laughing.

But before arriving at this moment, Higgins and Banzhoff had to endure the crushing loss of a child in 2016.

"Molly was 13 and had an undiagnosed brain tumor and died suddenly," Higgins explained.

While working through the grief, she says she became consumed with the thought of getting pregnant again.

"I started having these dreams that I wanted to have a child, and I thought, 'OK, Barb, that's a little crazy,'" she said.

But Banzhoff was on board.

So, after finding an IVF clinic in Boston that would treat a woman in her 50s, they decided to go for it.

"Jack is here, he's a little boy on the planet, and he gets to live a life," Higgins said.

As parents who have lost a child, they know all too well that tomorrow isn't promised.

"Nobody gives birth to a baby and know with any certainty that they will be alive to see that baby grow up," Higgins said.

To the people wondering why a couple in their 50s would bring a baby into this world, Higgins and her husband ask, "why not?"

"I don't know how I will be in 10 years, but how will you be in 10 years? And why should Jack not get to be alive because I'm old?" Higgins added.

She is hopeful that her story is encouraging for women struggling to get pregnant — a reminder that age is just a number.