ATLANTA -- A 55-year-old woman gave birth to twins this week at an Atlanta-area hospital.

Veronica Mensah gave birth to a healthy boy and girl just after 9 pm Monday at DeKalb Medical at Hillandale. Daniel Atsu Dikenou and Diane Atsupui Dikenou each weighed five pounds, eight ounces, according to the hospital.

Mensah, a Ghana native who lives in Decatur, had received in-vitro fertilization. She gave birth at 35-week gestation, and they are her first children.

The births were announced by the hospital today.

Multiple births to women of menopausal age are considered unusual, but at least 50 US women age 50 and older give birth to twins in a year, according to federal health statistics.

In May, a 60-year-old psychologist in New Jersey gave birth to twins via Caesarean section. She is believed to be the oldest US woman to have twins.