A 61-year-old woman has became what is believed to be China’s second oldest mother, according to media reports, in a growing trend of older births among desperate couples who have been left childless by Beijing’s draconian one-child policy. 
 
 The woman, who was identified by her surname Zhang, gave birth to a boy in China’s eastern Zhejiang province through in vitro fertilization (IVF). 
 
 The C-section delivery came two years after the death of her 30-year-old daughter, who was her only child at the time. 

 Experts urge caution after woman, 61, gives birth Updated: 2016-07-08 07:51 By Liu Kun in Wuhan and Shi Xiaofeng in Hangzhou(China Daily) 
 
 Liu Hongmei (left), 54, and her husband take care of their baby after Liu gave birth to the boy on June 27 in Xiangyang, Hubei province.[Gong Bo/provided to China Daily] 
 
 Obstetrics experts are urging women who want to become mothers again at an advanced age to think twice, after news of a 61-year-old woman giving birth went viral online this week. 
 
 The mother, surnamed Zhang, gave birth to a boy through a C-section at a hospital in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, on June 27, two years after her 30-year-old daughter, her only child at the time, died of illness. 
 
 She was discharged from the Women's Hospital Affiliated With the School of Medicine of Zhejiang University on Tuesday, and both mother and son were in good condition, said Sun Meiyan, a hospital spokeswoman. 
 
 The hospital said Zhang endured hardships during pregnancy. She suffered bleeding twice as well as pregnancy-induced hypertension syndrome, and she fought her way through after-delivery difficulties including anesthesia problems, bleeding and unstable blood pressure. 
 
 The hospital was hesitant to publicize that Zhang broke a provincial record for oldest new mother because it did not want to encourage women to give birth at or around retirement age, Sun said. 
 
 "The quality and quantity of eggs of women 35 or older have declined, so they will face a lower success rate of pregnancy and higher risks of miscarriage and birth defects," said Zhu Yimin, director of the hospital's reproductive and endocrine department. 
 
 Additionally, Zhu said, "During the prime time of the child's development, the parents are in their 70s. How can they spare efforts to accompany their children?" 
 
 Zhang became the province's oldest mother with the help of in-vitro fertilization, and is believed to be the country's second-oldest mother. A 62-year-old woman in Zibo, Shandong province, gave birth to a boy in May last year and is believed to have been the oldest known pregnant woman in China, according to media reports. 
 
 Women who give birth at an advanced age have made headlines in recent years. Many of them seek a chance to rebuild their family after losing their only child. 
 
 Just six days before Zhang's delivery, Liu Hongmei, 54, of Xiangyang, Hubei province, gave birth to a boy who was conceived through in vitro fertilization. She lost her first son in a traffic accident two years ago. 
 
 According to the National Health and Family Planning Commission, there are an estimated 1 million families nationwide in which the parents have lost their only child, a number that is increasing by about 76,000 a year. By the end of 2012, there were 355,000 such families in which the mother was age 49 or above. 
 
 Sun, the women's hospital spokeswoman, said the hospital's second-child counseling clinic has been popular this year, particularly among those in their 40s or older. 
 
 "The majority of women anxious to conceive in advanced age are those who have lost their only child," Sun said. 
 
 Zhou Wenting and Liang Shuang contributed to this story.
– China's one-child policy may have been abolished last October, but it's still having widespread repercussions in the country, where older and older women are risking pregnancy to have a second child, the Telegraph reports. According to China Daily, a 61-year-old woman named Zhang gave birth via C-section June 27. She's believed to be China's second oldest mother ever, behind only a 62-year-old woman who gave birth last May. Less than a week before Zhang had her baby boy, a 54-year-old woman named Liu Hongmei gave birth to her own baby boy. Both Zhang and Liu lost their only children—to illness and a traffic accident, respectively—two years ago. Chinese people rely heavily on their children for support, both monetarily and personally, when they get older. But the one-child policy has left an estimated 1 million families childless after their only offspring passed away. For those childless families, including approximately 335,000 women over 49, the future isn't promising. That's why many older couples want the government to fund in vitro fertilization treatments. But officials and doctors aren't eager to do that. One hospital director says older women attempting to have another child face increased risks of miscarriage and birth defects. He also worries about parents trying to raise children while in their 70s. Zhang's was anything but an easy pregnancy and birth—with anesthesia, blood pressure, and bleeding issues following—but both she and her new child appear to be doing well. (Here's how women are getting pregnant at 50 without IVF.)