Woman's Hour - 26/01/2010

With Jane Garvey. Sue Tollefsen from Essex gave birth to her first child in 2008 following IVF treatment in Russia. She was 58. Now Sue is investigating the possibility of conceiving again, this time in Britain. If she and the London Women's Clinic decide to go through with it, she will be the first women to give birth in the UK at 60. Sue joins Jane to discuss the issues surrounding older motherhood, the birth of her daughter and whether or not she should to attempt to conceive a second child. According to recent research from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, more than 24 million Chinese men of marrying age could find themselves without a wife by 2020. Thirty years ago China introduced a one child policy, which is now having unexpected consequences on the lives of young Chinese women in the 21st century. Sex-specific abortions and female infanticide now mean that for every 100 girl babies born, there are 119 boys. Child abductions and the trafficking of young women are growing problems in rural China but in urban areas, women of marriageable age are complaining that they can't find husbands. Jane explores the legacy of China's one-child policy. Randa Habib has spent the last 25 years covering war and politics in the Middle East, during which time she's dealt with threats to her own life; she was once held at gunpoint in Iraq. But it is through her dedicated coverage of the Royal Family of Jordan that she has made her most profound impact on current affairs. Her new book gives the inside story on the fortunes of King Hussein and his son and successor King Abdullah. She tells Jane how she came to forge such an important working relationship with this special family.