Man becomes dad again at age 75

A 75-year-old man has just become father of a baby girl in Southwest China's Chongqing in what is a rare case of natural conception, according to an expert.

A 75-year-old father, who only gave his surname as Shi, holds his newborn daughter with his son, aged 3, while his wife, 42, lies in bed at a hospital in Chongqing on Tuesday. The infant is the couple's third child and the man's fourth. His first child, a daughter, is 57 years old, and her mother died before Shi remarried. Ran Wen / for China Daily

The man, who gave his name only as Shi, was looking after his wife, 42, at the Jingang Hospital in the Yubei district of Chongqing on Thursday after she gave birth to a girl on Sunday.

According to Gui Wenming, president of the hospital, the baby girl was healthy and weighed 2.8 kilograms.

"It is indeed a rare case (for such an elderly man to have a baby naturally)," said Wang Linhong, who heads a national women's health agency under the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Wang said she has heard of similar cases but never had firsthand medical experience with them.

Shi declined interview requests on Thursday, saying he and his wife did not wish to be disturbed.

He has kept the door of his wife's hospital ward room shut for two days to maintain a low profile, according to patients at the hospital. This is possibly out of concern about violating China's family planning policy, which usually allows urban residents to have only one child.

A native of the Qianjiang district, Shi was a street food vendor in the Yubei district, Chongqing Morning Post reported on Wednesday.

The infant girl is the couple's third child, and Shi's fourth. His first child, a daughter, is 57 years old, and Shi remarried after her mother died, according to the report.

"I am old and a conservative type. I believed we had to give birth to the child since my wife became pregnant," Shi was quoted as saying.

Shi's wife had dangerously high blood pressure after giving birth and was taken to the Chongqing Emergency Medical Center on Sunday night.

The couple transferred from there to the Jingang Hospital to avoid attention.

While many people doubted whether Shi could raise the girl, considering his age, he said he was capable right now.

"I can still work and have a monthly income of 2,000 yuan ($315)," he was quoted as saying by the Chongqing Morning Post.

"My elder daughter loves her step-brothers and the little girl. I believe she and my wife can take care of my young child if I die before she grows up," he added.

You can contact the reporter at xuwei@chinadaily.com.cn