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The 66-year-old mom who gave birth to twin boys

Motherhood is a truly unique and special responsibility, one quite literally as old as our species is.

Becoming a mother is one of those life-changing things that sometimes comes by surprise, other times is the result of years of patiently waiting. Regardless of what form it takes, the one thing we should all agree on is that it is always a blessing.

For the most part, none of us can predict when we might become a parent. We can do our best to make it happen – if it’s what we want – but life has ever been, and will always be, unpredictable.

Some women become mothers young, bringing new life into the world while they’re still in their teens. Others fall pregnant later on in their own lives. Others, sadly, face problems that mean they might never get to deliver a baby of their own blood.

Of course, there is no right or wrong way. All babies should be celebrated, just as all mothers should be championed for the awe-inspiring journey they and their bodies go through in the process of creating another human being.

Some women, though, like Maria Carmen del Bousada, who lived in Cadiz, Spain, face scorn, sometimes even oppression, for their decisions concerning when or how to have a baby.

Back in 2006, Maria revealed her family were shocked when she told them she was pregnant with twins.

Why? Because she was 66 years old.

According to reports, Maria, a retired store employee, sold her house to be able to afford IVF treatment that would enable her to fall pregnant despite her years. She is said to have lied to doctors at a fertility clinic in California, telling them she was 55.

It was Maria’s belief that everyone should be able to choose when they want to start a family, instead of being pressured into it by society or the expectations of others.

Diagnosed with cancer

As per The Guardian newspaper, she said at the time: “Often circumstances put you between a rock and a hard place, and maybe things shouldn’t have been done in the way they were done, but that was the only way to achieve the thing I had always dreamed of.”

Naturally, not everyone agreed with her.

Chief among her critics were members of her own family, who labeled her selfish. Maria even said that she had hidden her pregnancy for a time, and that her relatives thought she was joking when she decided to tell them.

In 2006, Maria gave birth to a set of healthy twin boys, Christian and Pau, becoming the oldest mom in the world in the process.

Tragically, though, she would not get to see them grow up. Just six months after giving birth, the new mom was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

“They’re still babies, so I haven’t told them,” she said at the time. “They’re too young for these things.”

Maria Carmen del Bousada children

In a turn of events, Maria’s family was forced to step in and assist her in the raising of Christian and Pau. The retired mom passed away in 2009, only getting to enjoy a few short years with her boys.

Maria’s brother Ricardo commented: “I think she has done this too late in life … but now they are here. We love these beautiful boys.”

Not only that, but Pilar Pinto, a resident of Cadiz, where Maria lived, provided an update on how life is going for Christian and Pau.

“They are being well taken care of and are in great shape,” he said. “I see them here often in town.”

Pinto added: “God didn’t let her enjoy her children very much. He should have given her more time.”

For her part, Maria remained resolute to the very end with regards to her decision to have children later in life.

Such a beautiful story. I don’t know about you, but I think all women should reserve the right to decide when they want to have children.

What do you think about Maria’s decision to have babies in her 60s? Let us know your thoughts in the comments box on Facebook.

Meanwhile, share this article on social media to help us keep the debate going. Rest in peace, Maria!

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4th daughter dies after mom’s alleged murder-suicide

A fourth child from the same family has passed away days following an apparent murder-suicide involving Wyoming mother Tranyelle Harshman.

Tragic reports previously detailed how Harshman allegedly shot her four daughters before turning the gun on herself on February 10, 2025.

Brailey Blackmer, 9, Brooke and Jordan Harshman, both 2, and Tranyelle herself died from their injuries. 7-year-old Olivia Blackmer was airlifted to a hospital in Salt Lake City, with people all over the world praying for her recovery when the story gained international attention.

Sadly, father Quinn Blackmer posted to Facebook on Sunday, February 16, that Olivia had lost the battle for her life.

“I know this isn’t the update people were hoping for and we are absolutely gutted to make it, but we needed time to process what had happened before we let the world know of the tragic passing of Olivia yesterday (February 15) afternoon at 3:44 pm,” Quinn wrote.

The amount of devastation we feel and are going through is so much. Please give all famlies involved our time time and space during this extremely difficult time in our life.”

Quinn added that he was taking some small amount of solace in the fact that his daughters are together.

“The peace I find is knowing that my babies don’t have to be apart from each other and they can also be with their other sisters,” he said.

According to reports, Tranyelle Harshan, 32, was suffering from postpartum depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and depression. On the day of the alleged murders, she called the police to confess to having shot her daughters, warning them that she planned to then do the same to herself.

Tranyelle’s partner, Cliff Harshman, told the Cowboy State Daily that she had been suffering greatly.

Credit: Tranyelle Harshman – GoFundMe

“My wife was not a monster,” he said.

Of her health battles, he shared: “Most people don’t understand how that affects the brain. It’s a chemical imbalance. And it can be exacerbated by trying to fix it with medication.”

Rest in peace to the poor children taken from this world too soon.

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Father charged with murder after wife gives birth to twins

There is nothing more exciting for a young couple than to welcome a child they have been waiting months for. This young couple outwardly did not seem any different.

They were expecting twins and had one child already. No one suspected the parents were anything but over-the-moon. But then when the father was left alone with the newborn, he did something unthinkable. Keep reading to learn about his heinous actions.

The mother Savannah Bliss talked to the media and explained that her newborn son was injured while he was in his father’s care. According to Savannah, her husband was watching little Gunner and their older one year old child while she was visiting Gunner’s twin sister in the NICU at WakeMed.

The mother shared that Gunner and his twin Madelyn were both born premature at 34 weeks. The babies had not yet been released from the hospital when Gunner was injured.

22-year-old Noah Benjamin Bliss from Harnett County was arrested at WakeMed in Raleigh. He was charged with the first-degree murder of his 3-week-old son Gunner Bliss. He also faced charges of child abuse and inflicting serious bodily injury on the baby, from the incident that occurred on October 6, this year.

“I want justice for my son,” Savannah Bliss said. “I trusted my husband to watch Gunner while I was taking care of his sister in the ICU. He was sweetest boy with most beautiful blue eyes … he was the best baby [and] for him to be taken so soon is so wrong.”

The family was living temporarily at the WakeMed’s Heart Center Inn. The place is a hotel-like space for families who have loved ones receiving care downstairs in the hospital.

According to the mother Savannah Bliss, nursing staff said the injuries Gunner had indicated that he had been shaken vigorously by his father.

The staff told Savannah Bliss that Gunner had no external injuries or any broken bones, but that the infant had suffered from head trauma, in particular brain bleeding and swelling which deprived him of oxygen.

On Monday night, the newborn was taken off life support.

Shutterstock

Noah Bliss appeared in front of a court on Tuesday where he was sent to jail with no bond. His next court date is scheduled for the coming month.

As for Savannah, she is still trying to piece together what happened. The young mother said, “He seemed happy … like a proud father,” adding, “I never thought this would have happened … I trusted him, that was his daddy … he loved his babies.”

This is such an unfortunate situation to have happened. We are sending our thoughts and prayers to Savannah as she grieves this heartbreaking loss.

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All 6,000 residents in town live on the same street

There’s a quaint, charming element to life when you reside in a village or small town.

I mean the sort of place where almost everyone knows almost everyone else. First-name greetings are considered the norm, there’s a local watering hole for people to gather, and probably a handful of other buildings including a post office, a funeral directors, and some sort of store.

My point is, sometimes it’s nice to share the sense of a tight-knit community with others. It’s not for everyone, mind, but as humans there appear to be quite a lot of us who enjoy living as part of a flock as opposed to being out in the sticks on our own.

That said, I wonder how many people can honestly say they’d like to live in a town where all of the residents live on the same street!

Well, that’s the case for the residents of a village in Europe that achieved viral status on Twitter earlier this month after an aerial photo was uploaded to social media.

Incredibly, all of the 6,000 residents of the village of Sułoszowa, located in southern Poland, live along a single nine kilometer stretch of street.

The village has reportedly been dubbed “Little Tuscany” due to its layout, and as of 2017 had a population of 5,819, according to CSO Poland.

It’s said that each house on the street has a long strip of land that comes with it, which inhabitants use for a range of different things including farming and the housing of animals.

After people took notice of the strange, yet definitely beautiful aerial shots, residents of Sułoszowa responded by explaining what it was like to live there.

“I wouldn’t trade this place for anything else. It has its own charm and atmosphere. As the saying goes, there’s something about it,” one said.

Credit / Shutterstock – Olivier Uchmanski

“The whole place looks the same: there is a house and then a strip of field, hence the beauty of the photos. One has grain, the other has rapeseed, and the third has something else. The colors look beautiful from above.”

A second image was reportedly posted on Reddit, accompanied by a question regarding whether the strips of land that fan out from the village are the property of each house on the street.

Someone responded: “I just showed this to my Polish friend and he said yes!”

They continued: “Each house has that strip of land to do whatever on, hence different colours and they are using the land for different purposes. Some grow crops on it, others have animals, some just leave it.

“I said I didn’t believe him but he says it’s true.”

What an incredibly peculiar arrangement. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a town like this before.

Have you? Let us know in the comments box if you have.

Meanwhile, share this article on Facebook so more people can weigh in on the matter.

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