Paris - A 59-year-old French woman is due to give birth to triplets in a few days, the daily Le Parisien reported on Thursday.

The woman, who has only been identified as being of Vietnamese origin, is being treated in a Paris hospital specializing in potentially dangerous pregnancies.

"Giving birth at over 50 years of age is rare. And having triplets is not easy for a woman of 25. So to give birth to three children at that age ... It will not exactly be without risks for the mother," said Charles Brami, who heads the centre of in vitro conception at the American Hospital in Neuilly, outside Paris.

A relative of the woman told Le Parisien that she was experiencing no problems with the pregnancy, that it was "without real complications."

According to the report, the mother may have received oocytes, or immature egg cells, from a private clinic in Vietnam, and had the embryo implanted afterwards.

Francois Olivennes, a doctor specializing in infertility, told the newspaper that such an embryo could be implanted in the uterus of women who have long been in menopause.

However, in France this treatment is limited to women 43 years of age and younger.

"Women should know that (having a child) after the age of 45 is very risky, not only for them but also for the baby," he said.