A 59-year-old American is believed to have become the oldest woman in the world to give birth to twins, it has been reported.

Lauren Cohen, 59, with her twins.

Lauren Cohen and husband Frank Garcia's babies, Gregory and Giselle, were successfully delivered by Caesarean section despite life-threatening complications, according to the New York Post.

They were conceived by IVF using a donor egg.

The couple, from Paramus, New Jersey, already have an 18-month-old daughter, Raquel, who was conceived in the same way.

Mrs Cohen lost 33 pints of blood during the delivery, during which she had to have an emergency hysterectomy, as doctors at New York-Presbyterian Hospital battled to save her and the twins' lives.

She told the newspaper: "I'm happy. I come out healthy, and the two babies came out healthy."

Mrs Cohen, who turns 60 on August 11, also has a 27-year-old daughter, Renee, from her first marriage.

Mr Garcia, who is about 20 years younger than his wife, said: "Lauren has guts. She's amazing."

He added: "It was one of my dreams to have baby twins. It's like a miracle."

Mrs Cohen said she had just wanted Raquel to have a brother or sister.

"I wasn't expecting twins," she said. "But that's what happened."

Because of two conditions she suffered during her pregnancy - placenta previa, where the placenta is wedged against the cervix, and placenta percreta, in which the placenta grows through the uterus - she was admitted to hospital in March.

A Caesarean was planned for May 24, about six weeks before the twins were due.

But two days before then, the placenta broke through wall of Mrs Cohen's uterus and doctors sprang into action.

"They made a high incision," the new mum said.

"They pulled the babies out from the abdomen area without the placenta being disturbed."

However it was attached to the wall of her uterus "like crazy glue".

"I'm grateful to the doctors at Columbia Presbyterian for saving my life and saving my babies' lives," Mrs Cohen said.

The oldest woman in the world to give birth is thought to be Adriana Iliescu, from Romania, who had a daughter called Eliza Maria in January last year at the age of 66. A twin sister was stillborn.