A 56-year-old woman from Kiryat Malachi gave birth to her first child, a healthy boy weighing 3.01 kilograms (6 pounds 10 ounces), at the Kaplan Medical Center in Rehovot on Sunday. Tammy Trona, who came to Israel from Ethiopia during Operation Solomon in 1991, tried unsuccessfully to become pregnant for many years, but never gave up. "After many attempts to get pregnant, I decided to take a break, but my niece gave me strength and told me, 'Tammy, don't give up.' Soon after that conversation I became pregnant, and I and my family were overjoyed," Trona said. "I have no words to describe the medical team's dedication and courtesy. They kept me and the baby safe and healthy. I'm just so excited to hold this gift in my arms." Professor Zion Hagai, head of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Kaplan, said: "The medical staff at Kaplan Medical Center respect women's wishes to become mothers even at an advanced age. There is no doubt that over the age of 50 the procedure entails various risks, both during the pregnancy and during the Caesarean section. However, the pros and cons are weighed particularly when it is the woman's first child. The mother-to-be is then placed on bed rest in the hospital for several weeks, where she is kept under the watchful eye of the medical team. She then gives birth in the operating room, as in Tammy's case,"
