From Menopausal New Mom :

I guess I should backtrack a little and say for the record, how blessed I feel to have had my first and it turns out only child at the ripe old age of 45 years old.

She was the typical beautiful, bouncing baby who now fills every one of my days and finally, now she is three years old, just the occasional night.

So there I was, 44 years old and well aware of how remote my chances of becoming pregnant without intervention were.

They must be somewhere in the negative numbers by now I remember thinking.

No problem. I'd stop taking birth control.

I probably didn't need them anyway, and it would satisfy my husband who wanted to make sure if there could be a child in our future, at least we were allowing nature to take its course.

So that's how I ended up like this.

Up to my neck in dirty diapers and staring menopause right in the face!

Read more: Getting The News and What Was I Thinking!!

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
Is Your Body Baby-Friendly?:
Unexplained Infertility, Miscarriage and IVF Failure - Explained
by Alan E. Beer, Julia Kantecki, Jane Reed

-- A unique book—the first of its kind. No longer do patients have to accept that their infertility is just bad luck and they just have to keep on trying.

No longer should women with recurrent miscarriages have to listen to their doctor telling them their loss was God's will or they ought to be thankful because their baby was probably chromosomally abnormal.

The statistics simply do not support such claims—in fact, they show that repeated reproductive failure can be a symptom of wider health problems in the mother.

Furthermore, the root cause can be treated—not only to promote the chances of a successful pregnancy but to improve the mother's health long-term.

Paperback: 500 pages
Click to order/for more info: Is Your Body Baby-Friendly?

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Photo credit: © CEN dailymail.co.uk - All rights reserved

A woman has been hailed a hero after details of her astonishing work with abandoned children has emerged.

The whole thing started when she was 48 years old and found the first baby, a little girl when she was out collecting rubbish.

The baby was just lying amongst the junk on the street, abandoned. The baby would have died had the woman not rescued her and taken her in.

Lou Xiaoying, now 88 years old and suffering from kidney failure, found and raised more than 30 abandoned Chinese babies from the streets of Jinhua, in the eastern Zhejiang province where she managed to make a living by recycling rubbish.

She and her late husband Li Zin, who died 17 years ago, kept four of the children and passed the others onto friends and family to start new lives.

Her youngest son Zhang Qilin - now aged just seven years old - was found in a dustbin by Lou when she was 82 years old.

Even though I was already getting old I could not simply ignore the baby and leave him to die in the trash. He looked so sweet and so needy. I had to take him home with me, she said.

I took him back to our home, which is a very small modest house in the countryside and nursed him to health. He is now a thriving little boy, who is happy and healthy.

Read more: The truly inspiring story of the Chinese rubbish collector who saved and raised THIRTY babies abandoned at the roadside

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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!

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

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May 4, 2006 - Psychologist now seven months pregnant after fertility treatment

ROME - A 63-year-old psychologist is set to become Britain’s oldest mother after undergoing fertility treatment, the Italian doctor who treated her said on Thursday.

Patricia Rashbrook was given in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment last October, Severino Antinori told Reuters.

Antinori, who said he was excited and proud about the treatment, gained notoriety in the early 1990s when he helped a 62-year-old Italian woman give birth following fertility treatment with a donated egg.

Italy has since introduced some of Europe's most restrictive laws on assisted reproduction and Antinori said he had carried out the procedure on Rashbrook in an unnamed former Soviet republic.

The case of the English woman gave me great joy, he said, adding the treatment was successful at the first attempt, using a single embryo.

'Fits all the criteria for maternity'
He said Rashbrook, whom he last saw in November, was perfect for the treatment because although she was 62 years old at the time, she had a biological age of about 45 years old.

She came here with her husband, the couple loves each other, she is very slim, blonde and in perfect condition, she fits all the criteria for maternity.

She should live for at least 20 to 25 years -- we are not giving birth to an orphan, he said.
Rashbrook’s 61-year-old husband, John Farrant, told the Sun newspaper his wife was seven months pregnant.

We are of course both very happy and looking forward to the birth, he said.
Obviously at our age it is quite a daunting prospect.

Farrant is Rashbrook’s second husband and she has a 26-year-old daughter and a 22-year-old son, the paper said.

In a joint statement, the couple said: We wish to emphasize this has not been an endeavor undertaken lightly or without courage.

A great deal of thought has been given to planning and providing for the child's present and future wellbeing, medically, socially and materially.

Many fertility clinics in Britain will not provide treatment for women past the normal age for childbirth.

In 1997, Welsh woman Liz Buttle became Britain's oldest mother at the age of 60.

Media reports said she had obtained fertility treatment after lying about her age to doctors.

Last year, a 66-year-old Romanian, Adriana Iliescu, became the world's oldest mother when she gave birth to a baby girl after IVF treatment.

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
Is Your Body Baby-Friendly?:
Unexplained Infertility, Miscarriage and IVF Failure - Explained
by Alan E. Beer, Julia Kantecki, Jane Reed

-- A unique book—the first of its kind. No longer do patients have to accept that their infertility is just bad luck and they just have to keep on trying.

No longer should women with recurrent miscarriages have to listen to their doctor telling them their loss was God's will or they ought to be thankful because their baby was probably chromosomally abnormal.

The statistics simply do not support such claims—in fact, they show that repeated reproductive failure can be a symptom of wider health problems in the mother.

Furthermore, the root cause can be treated—not only to promote the chances of a successful pregnancy but to improve the mother's health long-term.

Paperback: 500 pages
Click to order/for more info: Is Your Body Baby-Friendly?

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Photo credit: Csmonitor.com - All rights reserved

Janice Min, it turns out, is surprised at the negative reaction to her column that ran this past weekend in The New York Times, in which the former Us Weekly editor bemoans the pressures on new moms to look thin.

Can't I get a free pass? she asked in the piece, noting even her Los Angeles manicurist seems shocked a 42-year-old would still be carrying baby weight four months after giving birth.

Moms across the country, she wrote, are suffering from an unrealistic celebrity culture idolizing both the baby bump and the mommy bounce back, in which stars shed pregnancy weight within weeks and look even better than before.

Read more: Can a Mom Get a Break?

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
The Garden of Fertility: A Guide to Charting Your Fertility Signals to Prevent or Achieve Pregnancy--Naturally--and to Gauge Your Reproductive Health
by Katie Singer

-- A guide to using fertility awareness - that is, reading fertility signals in order to prevent or achieve pregnancy.

Certified fertility educator Katie Singer explains how to observe and chart fertility cycles to determine when a woman is most fertile to increase chances of conception or to exercise birth control naturally - a method that, when followed precisely, is as effective as the Pill.

Unlike other books on fertility awareness, The Garden of Fertility also describes how to use the charts to gauge the gynecological health and offers non-medical options for strengthening reproductive wellness.

This book provides all the information women never learned in sex education class but should have.

Paperback: 320 pages
Click to order/for more info: The Garden of Fertility

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I married my husband on June 2nd.

On September 3rd, I got pregnant - after 17 years of being told I would never be able to get pregnant.

Well, the doctors were Oh, so wrong!

We did not want to have more children.

Well, let's face it, our children are raised - they were all grown up.

My husband has five daughters, and I have a son and two daughters.

After the shock of hearing the words You are pregnant, my husband almost passed out - LOL!

(Now it's funny).

We have gotten used to it, and are now very happy.

My husband said he wanted a boy!

He is 51 years old, and I was 43 years old when we found out.

I am now 44 years old.

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I am 45 years old, and 12 weeks pregnant with baby number six right now.

There are several of us over 40 years old and pregnant in the other areas of this forum.

I have been pleasantly surprised this time - I have not had ONE person say anything at all to me about my age.

Well, with the exception of one weirdo at church yesterday, but I will not include her here.

The doctor never said a word, my midwife didn't even ask my age.

My 70-year-old mom never said a word!!

It's not such a biggie anymore... really!!

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This over 40 years old section has had a lot of grads...

Did Terryann confirm her latest pregnancy yet?

If so, it's Terryann (46 years old), Csmiles (45 years old), Angushicks, Teeroze, Cagardengirl (all 44 years old), Typinggirl, Loulou, Heatherv8, Mely, Issacsmommy (all41 years old), who have BFPs [big fat positive - positive pregnancy test].

It's a good ratio for over 40s.

If you run into others who are pregnant over 40, send'em over here to give us more inspiration.

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You never do know...

I know two women who got pregnant at 54 years old.

The second one was the new wife of a friend of my parents'.

The groom/father-to-be was 70-something.

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Thought I'd share...

I was at our son's baseball game last night and was talking with another mom.

Her daughter just got married last summer, and sadly she had a miscarriage at Christmas time.

Her daughter's hubby is 25 years old.

Hubby's mom is pregnant!!

She is 46 years old, but will be 47 years old when her baby is born!

Her youngest child is 14 years old.

The mom who was sharing also told me of a lady at her church who was 46 years old and just had another baby...

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
It Starts with the Egg:
How the Science of Egg Quality Can Help You Get Pregnant Naturally, Prevent Miscarriage, and Improve Your Odds in IVF
by Rebecca Fett

-- Whether you are trying to conceive naturally or through IVF, the quality of your eggs will have a powerful impact on how long it takes you to get pregnant and whether you face an increased risk of miscarriage.

Poor egg quality is emerging as the single most important cause of age-related infertility, recurrent miscarriage, and failed IVF cycles. It is also a major contributor to infertility in PCOS.

Based on a comprehensive investigation of a vast array of scientific research, It Starts with the Egg reveals a groundbreaking new approach for improving egg quality and fertility.

With a concrete strategy including minimizing exposure to toxins such as BPA and phthalates, choosing the right vitamins and supplements to safeguard developing eggs, and harnessing nutritional advice shown to boost IVF success rates, this book offers practical solutions to will help you get pregnant faster and deliver a healthy baby.

Paperback: 304 pages
Click to order/for more info: It Starts with the Egg

Start reading It Starts with the Egg on your Kindle in under a minute!

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

In the United States, less than 5% of pregnancies are by Donor Egg.

This is based on the CDC [Center of Disease Control] stats.

If you count all donor egg cycles vs. all deliveries over 40 years old, there is less than a 5% chance any birth is via donor egg.

The HUGE majority of births over 40 years old are NOT Donor Egg, and the same is probably true in the UK.

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The 1-5% success rate is for what doctors actually follow.
IVF [in vitro fertilization] and IUI [Intrauterine insemination] cycles ONLY for a certain age and their FSH [Follicle stimulating hormone].

They do not report or follow any natural pregnancies over 40 years old.

They don't even think about over 40 births for all those women who weren't trying, or never sought help.

They certainly don't count women who lie about their age and pay cash.

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Try Traditional Chinese Medicine with an acupuncturist.

They should be the kind who can prescribe herbs for you.

I just hooked up with a TCM practitioner, and I know other women on other threads on this site have tried it and it worked for them.

The lady who is helping me got pregnant at 45 years old, with her first baby.

She is very hopeful for women my age (42 years old - soon to be 43 in June) to get pregnant.

What TCM teaches is, it all has to do with ENERGY within your body and diet - and getting your energy blocks going again.

I found out from her, my liver is totally blocked.

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My mother fell pregnant with my half brother when she was 45 years old.

She had no fertility treatment - the only treatment I can say she had is her boyfriend was only 30 years old!

They are still married today.

My mother now being 68 years old, and her last son is now 23 years old and working as an accountant - about to be married.

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I was in the hospital for a D+C after a miscarriage.

There was a hospital administrator who had had seven or more miscarriages.

She then went on to have two healthy babies.

She was over 40 years old too.

I think it is really a matter of getting that golden egg.

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
What I Thought I Knew: A Memoir
by Alice Eve Cohen
--A personal and medical odyssey beyond anything most women would believe possible

At age forty-four, Alice Eve Cohen was happy for the first time in years.

After a difficult divorce, she was engaged to an inspiring man, joyfully raising her adopted daughter, and her career was blossoming.

Alice tells her fiancé that she's never been happier. And then the stomach pains begin.

In her unflinchingly honest and ruefully witty voice, Alice nimbly carries us through her metamorphosis from a woman who has come to terms with infertility to one who struggles to love a heartbeat found in her womb - six months into a high-risk pregnancy.

What I Thought I Knew is a page-turner filled with vivid characters, humor, and many surprises and twists of fate.

With the suspense of a thriller and the intimacy of a diary, Cohen describes her unexpected journey through doubt, a broken medical system, and the hotly contested terrain of motherhood and family in today's society.

Timely and compelling, What I Thought I Knew will capture readers of memoirs such as Eat, Pray, Love; The Glass Castle; and A Three Dog Life.

Paperback: 208 pages
Click to order/for more info: What I Thought I Knew: A Memoir

Start reading What I Thought I Knew: A Memoir on your Kindle in under a minute!

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

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I was listening to the radio yesterday, and there was a lady on the phone on a talk show.

She and her husband stopped practicing contraception and started charting her cycles.

They already had two grown children.

Now they also have a 4-year-old, a 2-year-old and she's pregnant again.... and 46 years old!

Which means she was 42 years old when she had her 4-year-old and 44 years old when she had her 2-year-old.

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My doctor also encouraged me, by telling me she has delivered 10 babies this past year - to women over 44 years old.

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I knew a woman years ago, who had her first child at 41 years old, her second child at 44 years old.

Then she had twins at 50 years old!

I'm sure the twins were conceived with some medical help but still - it happens.

I don't know if she ever had any miscarriages, but I do know she smoked up until she got pregnant the first time.

Whenever I get discouraged, I think about her.

She used to be an editor for Time magazine and has written a couple of books.

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There is another poster on the Pregnant over 40 board who is over 45 years old!

In fact, she has had two over 40 pregnancies.

She will be 46 years old when she delivers her second baby.

I just wanted you guys to get some inspiration!

I am so inspired by this amazing number of over 44-year-old women getting pregnant.

It really does happen girls - and much more often than we think!

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June, 47 years old, UK

- I am currently 11 weeks pregnant, having conceived naturally at 47 years old.

I will be two months short of my 48th birthday when I deliver this baby.

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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!

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

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