Woman who gave birth to twins at 58, 12 years after menopause, draws renewed attention

A woman who became pregnant for the first time 12 years after menopause and gave birth to twins at 58 is drawing renewed attention years later.

Park Mi-sun, now 71, appeared Tuesday on the inaugural episode of a tvN STORY variety program, where she shared the story behind her pregnancy, once considered medically impossible.

Park, who married in 1985, said she longed for children but struggled with infertility. “I always loved children and thought I would naturally have one after marriage, but it didn’t happen,” she said.

Doctors later found that her fallopian tubes were blocked, leading her to attempt in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures for a decade without success. She entered menopause at 45.

The turning point came nearly a decade after menopause, when her menstrual cycle unexpectedly resumed and rekindled her hope of having a child. Park asked a well-known infertility specialist about trying IVF but was met with skepticism.

Rather than giving up, she resolved to strengthen her body for another attempt. She began visiting an oriental medicine clinic, stopped eating flour, fried food and coffee and shifted to a vegetable-based diet, and maintained regular exercise for two years.

Her efforts paid off. At a follow-up checkup, doctors assessed her physical condition as equivalent to that of a 38-year-old, making IVF viable. She succeeded on her first attempt, becoming pregnant with twins.

In September 2012, she delivered a boy and a girl weighing 2.23 kilograms and 2.63 kilograms, respectively. Her long-held dream of motherhood came true just before turning 60.

The delivery set a new record for the oldest childbirth in Korea at the time and made national headlines. The medical team at Asan Medical Center in Seoul, led by professor Kim Am, who assisted with the birth, praised her determination.

“The mother showed remarkable dedication in diet and exercise,” the team said. “This birth is a triumph of human will and a cause for celebration.”

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, a sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.