Frieda Birnbaum, right, and her husband Ken, left, of New Jersey, sit beside doctor Abdulla Al-Khan, who is holding the Birnbaum's twin boys on May 23, 2007, in Hackensack, N.J. (Courtesy Hackensack University Medical Center/Associated Press)

Enjoy the experience of raising kids late in life, an American woman who gave birth to twins at age 60 two years ago advises a 60-year-old woman in Calgary who is also the proud new mother of twins.

Ranjit Hayer is believed to be among the oldest Canadian women to give birth. Hayer's sons were delivered seven weeks prematurely by C-section on Tuesday, following a successful IVF treatment in India, CBC Radio's The Current reported Thursday.

"Enjoy it," said psychologist Frieda Birnbaum of Saddle River, N.J. "Live a healthy life for the children and to be a good parent. That's what it's all about."

Birnbaum, who conceived her sons with the help of an in-vitro fertilization clinic in South Africa, said that women her age have been calling from around the world to thank her.

"They feel that I'm an inspiration for giving them a second chance in life, not to have babies but to reinvent themselves," Birnbaum told CBC Newsworld.

"Younger women, on the contrary, have gone in the other extreme, because to them I'm an old lady in comparison."

Hayer and her two infants are doing well, doctors said. The twins will be kept in hospital until they reach a specified weight and can breathe on their own.

Inspiring older women

Her twins, Jarrett and Jake, are now fine, Birnbaum said, adding that she was motivated to have more children because she wanted her now eight-year-old son to have a younger sibling. She and her husband also have two grown children.

'10 or 20 years from now, there will be more of this going on.'— Frieda Birnbaum

The birth of both sets of twins sparked an ethical debate in the medical community and the public, with some decrying the act of giving birth late in life as selfish.

"I think it's more irresponsible for people who have dysfunctional families, who have developmental problems, they're immature, they're too young to have children," Birnbaum said of the criticism. "I feel I'm giving these children the best of care I have."

Birnbaum said she started looking at IVF when she was in her 50s. She ended up going to South Africa for fertility treatment because it was more practical and cheaper, although a clinic in the U.S. had agreed to treat her at age 55.

"I think that age is being redefined," Birnbaum said.

"I'm sure the public is not ready to hear this, [but] 10 or 20 years from now, there will be more of this going on."

The cutoff age in Canada for IVF is between 45 and 50 years old.

Canadian doctors have said Hayer's case also raises questions about whether medical tourism should be regulated, since the cost of treating premature babies is borne by Canadian taxpayers.