THE conspicuous bump protruding from beneath her cardigan appears incongruous for a woman who is fast approaching her eighth decade.

However, according to her friends and colleagues, Elizabeth Munro is not the kind of person to let age stand in her way.

Next month the businesswoman is set to give birth for the first time. A few weeks later, in early July, she will celebrate her 67th birthday. The two milestones combined will make her Britain’s oldest mother with her age exceeding the previous record-holder, Patricia Rashbrook, by four years.

Munro has made it clear she considers her pregnancy, which resulted from IVF treatment at a clinic in Ukraine, to be a private matter.

Yesterday, however, the public debate over the ethics of elderly women giving birth took an unexpected twist with the intervention of a doctor who is considered by many to be the foremost advocate of older mothers.

Professor Severino Antinori, whose IVF treatment enabled Rashbrook to conceive, said he considered Munro to have left her bid for motherhood too late.

“The maximum age for a woman to have a child should be 63,” he said, “because the average lifespan is 83 years of age and the child needs a mum for the first 18 to 20 years.

“The risks for a mum for giving birth at the age of 66 are very high. They include possible hypertension and even the risk of coma. Rashbrook was good medical science; we did 150 analyses in her case and we found she had a biological age of 45 even though her real age was, of course, much older.

“Even if a potential mother is in perfect health at the age of 70, I would say ‘no’ because the child must not become an orphan. This is bad medical science.”

Friends of Munro yesterday described her as a “determined and very private” woman who appeared to be much younger than her actual age.

“She is very dedicated to her work but she will make a good mother, I think,” said Margaret Murchie, who used to work at Delmore, the Suffolk business producing plastic products of which Munro is managing director.

“She has always wanted children of her own but this has come as a complete surprise to me,” said Murchie, who added that she disagreed with motherhood at such an age.

Munro, who is believed to have no siblings, was once married for about six months, to Robert Adeney, a businessman, becoming stepmother to his three adult children, Wil-liam, Penelope and Lucy. It is understood they divorced about 20 years ago.

Jane Page, who is the company secretary at Delmore, said: “Liz is a very focused and determined woman who would have considered things very carefully before she took a step like this.

“I was a bit surprised when she told me she was expecting a baby, but she knows what she is doing and, knowing her, would have made all the arrangements – I hear she has already hired a nanny.

“I feel pretty sure she’ll soon be back at work, if only part-time. She has built up a successful and expanding business and doesn’t really want to leave it.

“She did say some years ago that if she could find someone to run it then she might step down. But even with the baby here she will carry on working.”

Page added: “She could have done this 30 years ago or adopted and I don’t know why she has chosen this moment.

“As far as I’m aware, during the time I have known her she hasn’t had a partner, but she does keep her private life very private.

“I spoke to her this morning and she said everything was absolutely fine.”

Munro, who lives in a detached brick-built 1970s house in the Suffolk hamlet of Lidgate, also spends about a month each year at an apartment she owns in Cape Town, South Africa.

The flat, in the upmarket suburb of Rondebosch, is part of a complex designed for older people, with rules stating that children are allowed on site only for short periods.

However, staff said they would make an exception for Munro. A receptionist said: “You have to be at least 50 to buy property here and most people are in their eighties and nineties.

“Usually we only let children in to visit their grandparents.”

A friend of Munro in South Africa said: “Doctors gave her the choice of whether to find out the gender or not and she went for it.”

The friend added: “You would never guess she is as old as she is. She’s determined to stay young. She’s not short of money and always wanted someone to pass her wealth on to.” Additional reporting: Richard Goss

Record-breaking births

- The oldest woman to have given birth is Omkari Panwar, from India, who had a twin boy and girl last year. She was said to be 70. Her 77-year-old husband paid for the IVF, which the couple wanted to provide a male heir, by selling buffaloes and mortgaging his land.

- Maria del Carmen Bousada de Lara, from Spain, previously held the record after having twin boys at the age of 66 following IVF in America in 2006.

- In Britain, the record belongs to Patricia Rashbrook who gave birth to a son in 2006, when she was 62. Her doctor, Severino Antinori, treated her in Russia after the law in Italy, where he formerly operated, changed to make the procedure illegal.

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