A 60-year-old strictly Orthodox woman in Israel has become a mother for the first time.

After 40 years of fruitless fertility treatments, the woman and her husband, who live in the strictly Orthodox settlement of Kfar Chabad, have welcomed their firstborn son.

The woman told the Israeli newspaper Yediot Achronot on Wednesday: "I've waited for a baby for so long, I'm so happy."

According to the paper, the couple had been married for more than 40 years. The wife underwent numerous fertility treatments, and eight months ago finally became pregnant, but experienced various complications, which Professor Moshe Hod, head of the High-Risk Pregnancy Unit at the Rabin Medical Centre in Petah Tikva, said were typical of her age.

Three weeks ago she went into premature labour and gave birth to a healthy, though tiny - 4.29lbs baby boy.

Professor Hod said: "She is doing absolutely fine. She's in recovery with her son and she's euphoric." The woman is believed to be the oldest in Israel to have given birth.