A 46-year-old woman in her eighth month of pregnancy took part in a marathon recently held in Boston (the USA).

She covered 42 km within seven hours.

New York resident April Noan, who is to become 47 years old in several weeks, said her doctors and organizers of the marathon allowed her to participate in the heat.

What is more interesting, the woman does not understand why people make so much fuss about her deed?

Her opinion is, pregnancy is not a disease.

Women in past centuries treated pregnancy especially seriously only when it came to its end.

This Pregnancy Over 40 story was found on Funreports.com
Read more: Pregnant marathon athlete
Originally posted on April 24, 2002

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:

My Baby Chase

My Baby Chase: Our Roller Coaster Ride from Infertility to Parenthood
by Gilda Dangot Simpkin

-- This is the heart-wrenching tale of our convoluted 10-year quest to have a family, from the serious, and sometimes hilarious side of fertility treatments, through two harrowing international adoptions.

Our journey is filled with so many cliffhangers it reads more like a suspense tale than reality.

As you come along for our wild ride, you will be clutching this book praying we don't get derailed again.

Our story of determination and tenacity will give hope to anyone facing a difficult life journey.

Let my story motivate you to attain your dreams!

📚 Paperback: 188 pages
Click to order/for more info: My Baby Chase

My grandmother had her sixth and last baby when she was 47 years old.

Yes, it was a spontaneous pregnancy.

She thought she was having the menopause.

She was surprised to give birth to a healthy baby boy, at home, after 45-minute labor.

That baby is in his 50s now, and a physician and father himself.

My grandmother was VERY shocked, needless to say.

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
What He Can Expect When She's Not Expecting
How to Support Your Wife, Save Your Marriage, and Conquer Infertility!
by Marc Sedaka and Gregory Rosen

-- Mark Sedaka stood by while he and his wife endured endless rounds of drug therapies, sixteen artificial inseminations, ten in-vitro fertilizations, three miscarriages, and, finally, a gestational surrogate (womb for rent) who carried their twin girls to term.

He was as supportive and loving as he could be, but he really wished he'd had a book like What He Can Expect When She's Not Expecting during the process. Most books about dealing with infertility are geared toward women, leaving the man to his own devices when it comes to comfort and encouragement (never a good idea).

With the help of his own infertility doctor, Sedaka provides straightforward guy-friendly advice on situations such as: What questions you should ask at the consultations, how to help rather than annoy, what kinds of tests you and your wife should expect, how to console a wife who appears inconsolable, and how to enjoy procreation sex.

Sedaka's accessible, empathetic voice, combined with the fact that he experienced everything he writes about, makes this a must-have book for any infertile couple.

📚 Paperback: 208 pages
Click to order/for more info: What He Can Expect When She's Not Expecting

📚 Start reading What He Can Expect When She's Not Expecting on your Kindle in under a minute!

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I want to tell you about my grandmother...

She gave birth to my aunt Cindy when my grandmother was 47 years old.

Yes, it was a surprise pregnancy!

My grandparents were so shocked!

They thought they were done having babies.

So keep trying... there is always hope!!

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:

Surprise Child

Surprise Child: Finding Hope in Unexpected Pregnancy
by Leslie Leyland Fields

-- Unplanned pregnancies happen to women in every season of life: the newly married, the never-married, the empty-nester, the teenager, the overworked mother, the career woman.

Yet we rarely talk about how lonely and confusing this experience can be.

In Surprise Child, Leslie Leyland Fields, who experienced two unplanned pregnancies in her forties, lyrically weaves her own story with the stories of other women who understand the isolation you face as expectations and plans are turned upside down to make room for a child.

Each year, more than three million women discover themselves pregnant – at a hard time, the wrong time, at a difficult place in their lives. I am one of those women...

Together, these women walk with you month-by-month through the physical and emotional stages of pregnancy, voicing with startling honesty their own anxieties and struggles.

Here you will find the companionship and hope you need to journey toward a new life.

📚 Paperback: 176 pages
Click to order/for more info: Surprise Child

📚 Start reading Surprise Child on your Kindle in under a minute!

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Just to let all you hopefuls out there that this does happen!

Women can frequently become pregnant after their 40s and 50s but can struggle to sustain their pregnancy due to lack of hormones and health-related complications, such as blood pressure problems, etc.

When there is a problem with menses, often their OB/GYN gives progesterone to promote sloughing of the lining of the uterus; this may also slough off an early embryo.

Being a nurse, I never assume anymore a woman over 50 years old isn't pregnant, as the last call I received was from a 56-year-old woman who sustained a pregnancy unassisted in any way.

She gave birth to a beautiful baby boy, with no complications at all.

She even had a natural birth, with no medical assistance!

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
Take Charge of Your Fertility (Teach Yourself)
by Heather Welford

-- Explains everything the prospective parent may need to know as they face the physical, emotional and practical challenges of trying for a baby.

It covers health issues in full, from basic biology and an explanation of fertility and cycles to outlining what supplements are useful and what isn't, and how you can maximize your chances by following a healthy diet and cutting alcohol or nicotine intake.

There are plenty of resources and guidelines for parents facing difficulties, including a guide to the medical options, and advice on how to seek further help.

It will help couples to deal with the emotional issues faced when trying for a baby, and will also give practical information on who you should tell and who you must tell, and when.

With coverage of all aspects of very early pregnancy, from do-it-yourself tests to the very first scan, it will be a useful resource that will help all prospective parents, whether looking to start or to expand their family.

📚 Paperback: 192 pages
Click to order/for more info: Take Charge of Your Fertility

📚 Start reading Take Charge of Your Fertility on your Kindle in under a minute!

📚 Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Right now, on another fertility forum I read, there are currently about sixteen women who are pregnant and all are over 40 years old.

Of those women, one woman is 44 years old - pregnant with IVF [in vitro fertilization], but using her own eggs.

She will be 45 years old when she delivers her baby.

Four of these women are 45 years old - all are natural pregnancies - conceived with their own eggs, no medical assistance.

Two of those women are pregnant wwith their very first pregnancy ever!

One woman is 47 years old. She says it was a surprise pregnancy, they were not even trying to get pregnant.

In fact, she thought she was going into menopause.

Remember, these pregnancies are ALL with their own eggs.

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
Eat, Love, Get Pregnant: A Couple's Guide To Boosting Fertility and Having A Healthy Baby
by Karen Daniels

-- A breakthrough revolutionary plan for getting pregnant fast, solving common fertility problems and having a healthy baby – this is NOT your average book on getting pregnant!

Renowned fertility expert Dr. Niels Lauersen and women’s wellness expert Colette Bouchez help readers take charge of their fertility with a revolutionary new self-help plan designed to show couples how to work together to boost their conception odds, plan for a healthy pregnancy, and get pregnant faster – all without the use of expensive fertility treatments or medications.

Based on scientific research and tested on thousands of couples Eat-Love- GET PREGNANT is a simple yet revolutionary plan that provides the quintessential missing link absent from most other fertility programs – namely, the importance of not only boosting both male and female fertility simultaneously, but bold new evidence showing how, when couples work together in certain special and unique ways, they can create a unified fertility power boost strong enough to take them from infertile to fertile in as little as three months

📚 Paperback: 116 pages
Click to order/for more info: Eat, Love, Get Pregnant

📚 Start reading Eat, Love, Get Pregnant on your Kindle in under a minute!

📚 Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

I know that it can happen because my Father was born when his mother was 47 years old.

She always wanted children, but it just never happened before this.

Because she was never pregnant before, she didn't even realized she was carrying a baby until she was 6 months along.

I am told she did not regret having to wait to have her first, and only child.

She was able to travel, gain life experience, financial stability, as well as a supportive family on her side long before she became a mom.

There’s a wonderful sense of calm about being a mother in your 40s.

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
Unsung Lullabies: Understanding and Coping with Infertility
by Martha Diamond, David Diamond and Janet Jaffe

-- For people experiencing infertility, wanting a baby is a craving unlike any other. The intensity of their longing is matched only by the complexity of the emotional maze they must navigate.

With insight and compassion, Drs. Janet Jaffe, Martha Diamond, and David Diamond-specialists in the field of Reproductive Psychology who have each experienced their own struggle with infertility-give couples the tools to:

 • Reduce their sense of helplessness and isolation
 • Identify their mates' coping styles to erase unfair expectations
 • Listen to their unsung lullabies--their conscious and unconscious dreams about having a family -- to mourn the losses of infertility and move on.

Ground-breaking, wise, and compassionate, Unsung Lullabies is a necessary companion for anyone coping with infertility.

📚 Paperback: 304 pages
Click to order/for more info: Unsung Lullabies

📚 Start reading Unsung Lullabies on your Kindle in under a minute!

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Women over 40 DO NOT have a higher risk for Down's Syndrome babies.

That statistic is skewed.

The risk is higher for Down's babies with a FIRST pregnancy and since in the last 20 years, a greater majority of women were choosing to put off having babies until in their 40s all of a sudden the instances of Down's babies over the age of 40 increased drastically!

But it wasn't women in general over 40 having babies... it was STILL first pregnancies with the high risk - it just so happened many more of these first pregnancies were occurring over age 40.

Thus the stats changed but were never explained accurately.

I think it is all too easy to think of 1-80 as one in 80%, but it is not.

1-80 translates to 1.25 % for DS, or 98.75% chance of not having Down Syndrome....

Maternal age as a risk factor for occurrence of Down Syndrome

Age...Stats...Percentage DS...Percentage not having Down Syndrome
36....... 1/200.......0.5% DS.............or 99.5% NOT
37........1/150.......0.666667% DS.....or 99.333333% NOT
38........1/120.......0.833333% DS....or 99.166667% NOT
39........1/100.......1% DS...................or 99% NOT
40........1/75 ........1.33333% DS........or 98.66667 % NOT
41........1/60........1.66667% DS........or 98.33333 % NOT
42........1/45........2.22222% DS.......or 97.77778 % NOT
43.........1/35 .......2.85714% DS......or 97.14286 % NOT
44.........1/30........3.33333% DS.....or 96.66667 % NOT
45+.......1/20........5% DS ...............or 95% NOT

Source: udaan.org/downsynd/downgene.html

What I get from this is that the chances of having a baby with Down's Syndrome does not go up as drastically as I had originally thought.

The one in whatever numbers makes things look very bad for us.

When I translated them however to percentages, they look a lot better.

We have a better chance of having a baby without Down's Syndrome.

If I had an illness and was told I had a 95% chance of getting better, I would not plan my funeral.

Would you?

Source: Jillian |  FertilityFriend.com

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
Gifts: Mothers Reflect on How Children with Down Syndrome Enrich Their Lives
by Kathryn Lynard Soper (Author), Martha Sears (Foreword)

-- Having a baby with Down syndrome is not something most parents would willingly choose. Yet many who travel this path discover rich, unexpected rewards along the way.

In this candid and poignant collection of personal stories, sixty-three mothers describe the gifts of respect, strength, delight, perspective, and love, which their child with Down syndrome has brought into their lives.

The contributors to this collection have diverse personalities and perspectives and draw from a wide spectrum of ethnicity, world views, and religious beliefs. Some are parenting within a traditional family structure; some are not.

Some never considered terminating their pregnancy; some struggled with the decision. Some were calm at the time of diagnosis; some were traumatized. Some write about their pregnancy and the months after giving birth; some reflect on years of experience with their child.

Their diverse experiences point to a common truth: The life of a child with Down syndrome is something to celebrate. These women have something to say--not just to other mothers but to all of us.

📚 Start reading Gifts on your Kindle in under a minute!

📚 Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Kaiya posted: Recently at my list Over40Mommies a woman joined who is 50 or 51 years old, and also has older children.

She now is with a new husband who is in his 30s.

There is a history of several mature pregnancies in her family.

Most notably her maternal grandmother who gave birth to her uncle at 54 years old.

Her grandmother had many births at home, but she decided to go to the hospital for the birth of the uncle who was perfectly healthy.

So she doesn't feel she is too old.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Evie posted: I have done a lot of genealogy research along with my girlfriend (on her family).

We found there were SO MANY natural oops babies in their late forties and early 50s.

Keep up the hope ladies!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Louise posted: A woman who has had children at 40, 42 and 44 years old herself was talking to a nurse in her doctor's office.

The nurse told a story of a woman who, at 56 years old, came in complaining of weight gain and abdominal discomfort.

She had not had a cycle in years so they didn't think pregnancy at first.

They did a number of tests for other things, only to discover she was actually pregnant and nearly 6 months along!!

She had a healthy baby girl three months later.

Her husband was in his 60s.

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
45 and Pregnant: How I Conceived and Delivered Naturally
by Liz Angeles

-- A three-part journey that begins with a 44-year-old single woman with no prospects, leading quickly to a middle-aged pregnancy.

Her fears and worries about childbirth with her historically low pain threshold were later transformed by her decision to have a home water birth with no drugs and her success story that involved no complications.

Beginning with a serendipitous love story that led to the sudden pregnancy and concluding with the family events that transpired beyond the delivery, Liz Angeles provides a plethora of information for anyone considering a natural birth.

Her comical memoir spanning a 5-year period includes many healthy pregnancy tips and natural parenting options.

Her revealing details and personal choices promise to educate, entertain and inspire.

Paperback: 223 pages
Click to order/for more info: 45 and Pregnant

Start reading 45 and Pregnant on your Kindle in under a minute!

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Our neighbor has a colleague at work who is pregnant for the second time at 49 years old.

Her first child, she had when she was 47 years old.

We recently ran into another couple who had conceived for the first time without any medical help, when she was 46 years old.

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:

Ready: Why Women Are Embracing The New Later Motherhood
by Elizabeth Gregory

-- Over the past three decades, skyrocketing numbers of women have chosen to start their families in their late thirties and early forties.

In 2005, ten times as many women had their first child between the ages of 35 and 39 as in 1975, and thirteen times as many had their first between 40 and 44.

Women now have the option to define for themselves when they're ready for family, rather than sticking to a schedule set by social convention.

As a society, however, we have yet to come to terms with the phenomenon of later motherhood, and women who decide it makes sense for them to delay pregnancy often find themselves confronted with alarmist warnings about the dangers of waiting too long.

In Ready, Elizabeth Gregory tracks the burgeoning trend of new later motherhood and demonstrates that for many women today, waiting for family works best.

She provides compelling evidence of the benefits of having children later -- by birth or by adoption.

Paperback: 336 pages
Click to order/for more info: Ready

Start reading Ready on your Kindle in under a minute!

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

My name is Susan, and I am 46 years old.

We were not trying to get pregnant - this is a total surprise!

I just found out I am 6 weeks and 5 days pregnant.

This will be our third baby, but my fourth pregnancy.

I lost one baby due to miscarriage.

I am due with this baby on my birthday.

I will be 47 years old when the baby is born.

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
45 and Pregnant: How I Conceived and Delivered Naturally
by Liz Angeles

-- A three-part journey that begins with a 44-year-old single woman with no prospects, leading quickly to a middle-aged pregnancy.

Her fears and worries about childbirth with her historically low pain threshold were later transformed by her decision to have a home water birth with no drugs and her success story that involved no complications.

Beginning with a serendipitous love story that led to the sudden pregnancy and concluding with the family events that transpired beyond the delivery, Liz Angeles provides a plethora of information for anyone considering a natural birth.

Her comical memoir spanning a 5-year period includes many healthy pregnancy tips and natural parenting options.

Her revealing details and personal choices promise to educate, entertain and inspire.

Paperback: 223 pages
Click to order/for more info: 45 and Pregnant

Start reading 45 and Pregnant on your Kindle in under a minute!

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

I am now 49 years old (almost) and my daughter will be 3 years old in March.

Got pregnant accidentally (Can you believe it? A woman of my age getting pregnant accidentally, oh my,) and the father only lasted about 6 months or so.

So -- single, going through menopause, with an almost 3-year old -- many tough days for sure -- would I change any single thing, no, my pregnancy was wonderful, I loved it, I love remembering it, wish I could do it again over and over.

I was perfectly healthy (and I was a smoker) and I had the healthiest smartest (of course) most beautiful baby girl, even thinking about it now I get tears in my eyes.

She has not suffered because I'm older -- there was no way I would have been the parent I am when I was younger.

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
Rewinding Your Biological Clock: Motherhood Late in Life
by Richard J. Paulson M.D., Judith Sachs

-- In 1996, Dr. Richard Paulson assisted a 63-year-old woman to conceive using in vitro fertilization with a donor egg, and she became the oldest woman in the world to give birth.

This incredible example of how assisted reproductive technologies, or ART, can change the course of nature, raises tough biological, emotional, and ethical issues.

Rewinding Your Biological Clock is a unique exploration of each of these issues, especially the how-to of peri- and post-menopausal pregnancy.

Written by a leading fertility specialist and a health educator, this original and daring book rethinks society's most fundamental beliefs about motherhood, aging, and life itself.

Paperback: 356 pages
Click to order/for more info: Rewinding Your Biological Clock

MOST women from about age 13 to age 52 can get pregnant after sexual intercourse.

These are called the reproductive years.

If you're sexually active, and you don't want to get pregnant, you DO have to use a reliable form of birth control.

Otherwise, you DO risk getting pregnant.

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
Eat, Love, Get Pregnant: A Couple's Guide To Boosting Fertility and Having A Healthy Baby
by Karen Daniels

-- A breakthrough revolutionary plan for getting pregnant fast, solving common fertility problems and having a healthy baby – this is NOT your average book on getting pregnant!

Renowned fertility expert Dr. Niels Lauersen and women's wellness expert Colette Bouchez help readers take charge of their fertility with a revolutionary new self-help plan designed to show couples how to work together to boost their conception odds, plan for a healthy pregnancy, and get pregnant faster – all without the use of expensive fertility treatments or medications.

Based on scientific research and tested on thousands of couples Eat-Love- GET PREGNANT is a simple yet revolutionary plan that provides the quintessential missing link absent from most other fertility programs – namely, the importance of not only boosting both male and female fertility simultaneously, but bold new evidence showing how, when couples work together in certain special and unique ways, they can create a unified fertility power boost strong enough to take them from infertile to fertile in as little as three months

Paperback: 116 pages
Click to order/for more info: Eat, Love, Get Pregnant

Start reading Eat, Love, Get Pregnant on your Kindle in under a minute!

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

I am pregnant at 47 years old.

Is there anyone out there who also had their first child at 47/48 years old?

I am in need of some advice...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One of my grandmothers was 48 years old when she had my Aunt, who is only one month older then I am.

She also had at least two other children in her 40s, with no medical help.

I'm holding on to this information as increasing my chances.

Good Genes and all!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My grandmother's sister gave birth at 43 years old (surprise baby), after they told her for over 13 years she would never have a second child.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One woman I know had her first child at the age of 49 years

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
Stay Fertile Longer: Everything You Need to Know to Get Pregnant Now--Or Whenever You're Ready
by Mary Kittel and Deborah Metzger

-- Many women today dream of having it all -- a challenging career, a satisfying personal life, a loving mate, and a baby whenever they're ready.

But there's no denying the fact that their biological clocks are ticking away.
The odds of conceiving drop by 15 to 20 percent for a woman in her early 30's and plummet to less than 50 percent when she's in her 40's.

The good news is that there are a host of natural strategies every would-be mom can use today to preserve and optimize her fertility, so that she can conceive quickly and easily when she's ready.

Paperback: 352 pages
Click to order/for more info: Stay Fertile Longer

Hi, I am Erna, 48 years old.

Traveling used to be my passion, and I never found time to settle down.

Finally, at the age of 40 years old, I meet my husband and found peace of mind.

Neither of us had been married before or had children.

We briefly thought about having children but dismissed the thought by thinking we were too old anyway.

After all, you did not hear or read a lot about women who became a mother after 40, the whole society is focused on younger mothers.

Anyway, to our great surprise I turned out to be pregnant at 47 years old, I only found out after about two months along.

I had the luck I was seeing a great doctor, and he gave me a lot of confidence.

After 42 weeks, labor started naturally and a beautiful healthy baby boy was born.

I never dreamt a child could give such joy to your life and now I sometimes regret I did not go for it earlier.

But such is life, you take it as it comes, and it is no guarantee you would have been happier if you had acted differently.

My son is one and a half years old now, and I still enjoy every day!

I am from Amsterdam, Netherlands.

---

TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
The Secret Diary of a New Mum Aged 43 1/4
by Cari Rosen

-- Whatever your age, becoming a mum for the first time brings with it excitement, anxiety and numerous challenges.

But how do you cope when, to top it all, you discover you are old enough to be the mother of everyone else in your NCT group?

The story of one woman, one new baby, a slipped disc and rather too many wrinkles, The Secret Diary of a New Mum (Aged 43 1/4) follows the tale of a midlife mum as she tries to make the transition from experienced TV producer to utterly inexperienced parent.

One in five babies is born to a mum over 35, and the number of over 40s giving birth has doubled.

The first humorous narrative account of what it's really like to be a midlife mum - whether it's deftly side-stepping any questions about age and baby number two or weeping as younger counterparts ping back into their size ten jeans within thirty seconds of giving birth.

This is the thoroughly entertaining, insightful and often hilarious account of what happens as you face up to menopause and new motherhood at the same time.

Paperback: 256 pages
Click to order/for more info: The Secret Diary of a New Mum Aged 43 1/4

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I am now 46 years old and 12 weeks pregnant - so far, so good!!

I decided to become a mother on my own, and I feel so blessed and lucky I was able to get pregnant.

I'll be 47 years old when this baby is born, and I am looking forward to my new life and new role as a mom!!

I used my own eggs along with donor sperm - this was based on the fact all my fertility tests were fairly good - Clomid to stimulate the ovaries a bit... then an Ovadril injection.

Yes, it was an IUI [Intrauterine insemination].

There's a little family medical history which may have been in my favor as well, one cousin was 48 years old when her daughter was born .

She had a normal, uneventful pregnancy, she actually thought menopause had started!!

---

TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
What Every Woman Should Know About Fertility and Her Biological Clock
by Cara Birrittieri

-- Until now, there has been little practical advice on what women can do about ticking biological clocks.

What Every Woman Should Know About Her Biological Clock is the first book to explore a woman's reproductive lifespan completely, from beginning to end.

Based on Cara Birrittieri's own experience of running up against a slowing biological clock, she shows women for the first time how to tell what time it is with a simple blood test giving them a peek at the state of their ovaries.

Paperback: 224 pages
Click to order/for more info: What Every Woman Should Know About Fertility and Her Biological Clock

In 2005, there were more than 104,000 births in the United States to women ages 40 through 44, and over 6,500 to women 45 years old and older.

The birth rate for women in the 40-44 age group has risen steadily since 2000, by 2% annually! It rose 4% from 2015 to 2016.

The birth rate for women 45-49 years old remained unchanged from 2008 till 2012. It rose 0.8% from 2015 to 2016.

The birth rate for women aged 50 and over has remained unchanged since 2006.

Let's check the latest birth stats over 40!




Women in their 40s
—The birth rate for women aged 40–44 was 11.4 births per 1,000 women in 2016, up 4% from 2015 (11.0) (Table 2) to the highest rate for this group since 1966 (11). The number of births to women in their early 40s increased by 1% from 2015 to 2016.

The birth rate for women aged 45–49 (which includes births to women aged 50 and over) was 0.9 births per 1,000 women in 2016, up from 0.8 in 2015. The number of births to women aged 45 and over was essentially unchanged from 2015 to 2016.

Women aged 50 and over
— A total of 786 births in 2016 were to women aged 50 and over, essentially unchanged from 2015 (754) (Table 3) (10). The number of births to women in this age group has generally increased since 1997 (144) when data for women aged 50 and over became available again. The birth rate for women aged 50–54 was 0.7 births per 10,000 women in 2016, unchanged from 2015. Because of the small number of births to women in this age group, the birth rate for women aged 50–54 is expressed per 10,000 women. For rates shown elsewhere in this report, births to women aged 50 and over are included with births to women aged 45–49 when computing birth rates by age of mother (the denominator for the rate is women aged 45–49).

Source: National Vital Statistics Reports | CDC.gov

Photo credit: Births and Natality,
Births: Final Data for 2016 by CDC - All rights reserved

---

TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
The Infertility Cure: The Ancient Chinese Wellness Program for Getting Pregnant and Having Healthy Babies
by Randine Lewis

-- Infertility affects one out of six couples today.

Dr. Lewis presents a groundbreaking alternative approach to infertility, explaining how she used traditional Chinese medicine to treat her own infertility, successfully conceiving and giving birth to two children.

In Lewis's experience, women who have undergone three to six months of the dietary changes, herbs and acupuncture treatments become pregnant with no further effort.

Lewis intersperses her somewhat technical examination of the program with anecdotes about her patients, weaving in discussions on diet, herbal supplements, acupuncture, older women and problems related to infertility.

Paperback: 320 pages
Click to order/for more info: The Infertility Cure

A woman's fertility falls after the age of 35, but many an older woman has been surprised when she has fallen pregnant with an unplanned baby in her late 40s or even early 50s.

Cherie Blair, the Prime Minister's wife, was certainly not alone in assuming her fertility was negligible only to be surprised and delighted to be proved wrong.

The Prime Minister's wife gave birth to her fourth child two years ago, at the age of 45. Their first child, Euan, was born in 1984.

Sadly, Cherie suffered a miscarriage following another unplanned pregnancy at the age of 47.

Late pregnancy can and does happen, and for this reason, it is important to get correct advice about contraception even beyond the menopause.

Read more: Pregnancy Question - 54 year old wife

Photo credit: Former prime minister Tony Blair and Cherie Booth with their fourth child, Leo, in May 2000. Photograph: Mary Mccartney/PA | TheGuardian.com

---

TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
50 Things You Can Do Today to Increase Your Fertility
by Sally Lewis and Nim Barnes

-- Practical advice and a holistic approach to help you conceive, including simple dietary and lifestyle changes and do it yourself complementary therapies.

In this accessible and informative guide, Sally Lewis explains how age, sexual infections, diet, excess weight, stress, and anxiety affect fertility.

Teaching how to discover the best time for conception; understand the link between body, mind, and fertility; and manage stress and relax to prevent anxiety, this is the ultimate guide to increasing the likelihood of conception at any age.

Paperback: 128 pages
Click to order/for more info: 50 Things You Can Do Today to Increase Your Fertility

Start reading 50 Things You Can Do Today to Increase Your Fertility on your Kindle in under a minute!

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