After almost three decades of marriage, spent in the harrowing embrace of barrenness, and with three husbands, 52-year-old Alhaja Owolabi Kareem against all odds and human expectations not only got pregnant but also gave birth to a bouncing baby girl.

For the couple, Alhaji and Alhaja Owolabi Kareem of Ajah in the Eti Osa Local Government Area Lagos State, November 26, 2010, will forever be remembered as a day of celebration of miracles.

It was the day on which the 52-year-old Alhaja Owolabi Kareem put to bed a bouncing baby girl. It was the first in her life.

Like most women of her age, Alhaja Ajah as she is fondly called by her fellow members at the Saints Gospel Church of Christ Hand of Fire, Ago along Igando-Ikotun Road, Lagos had entered menopause. Some derisively call it meno-stop!

After being married for about 30 years and with no fruit to show for her conjugal labor, she had lost all hopes of ever having a baby but for her newfound faith.

Five years earlier, the 52-year-old businesswoman had been introduced to a new faith by a friend who had watched as she struggled desperately and in despair but in vain for a child.

Prior to this, it had been one long struggle filled with anguish, fears, tears, humiliation and even desperation.

According to Alhaja, she had visited all known hospitals and medical practitioners both orthodox and unconventional, local and foreign all to no avail.

It was after she had reached menopause and lost hope, she decided to heed her friend's advice of seeking further spiritual help at a particular worship center where she worships currently.

This Pregnancy Over 40 story was found on CompassNewspaper.com
Originally posted on December 5th, 2010.
Photo credit: CompassNewspaper.com - All rights reserved

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:

The Infertility Cure

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

Sandy, 49, Wichita, Kansas, US 

ANAHEIM – To Carolyn Pelcak, age is just a state of mind.

When she wanted to have a child at 52 years old, friends and family said she was crazy.

But now that the 55-year-old waitress and lawyer has given birth Saturday to her second child, Alexandre, she counts herself among the oldest women in Orange County to have a baby.

And the single mom is loving every minute of it.

People say, 'Oh, you must be crazy. You're old enough to be a grandmother,' Pelcak said Thursday, cradling Alexandre against her chest in her Anaheim home. But the alternative is that these children wouldn't be born.

Pelcak always dreamed of having children. She married in 1987 when she was in her late 30s. She tried immediately to get pregnant but to no avail. In 1991, she and her husband decided to see a fertility specialist, first in Irvine and later in Glendale.

There, Dr. Charles March tried several times to artificially inseminate Pelcak, but it wasn't working. Her husband was giving up hope.

He said maybe we were too old, Pelcak said. But I wasn't prepared to let go of my passion. I'm not someone who gives up very easily.

Meanwhile, another dream was taking root. Pelcak wanted to be a lawyer. Her co-workers at Disneyland's exclusive Club 33, where she still works, were stunned. And her doctor said she couldn't have the baby and go to law school at the same time.

I just told him, 'I want to do both. I'm sure there's a way.'

March came up with a solution: harvest Pelcak's eggs, create embryos using her husband's sperm and freeze them until she finished law school.

And that's what she did. While her embryos sat in a bank at a hospital in Century City, Pelcak spent four years at Western State University College of Law in Fullerton.

Law school took its toll. Her marriage began to crumble while her medical bills soared. Pelcak estimates she spent more than $100,000 on fertility procedures.

After graduation, she worked to pay off her bills. She and her husband separated. But her dream of a family never died.

In 1998, after she passed the bar, Pelcak tried for a baby.

First, she miscarried. The second time, the procedure didn't take. Pelcak almost gave up, but her mother said the third time's a charm.

Thank God I listened, Pelcak said.

When a pregnant Pelcak walked into Dr. E. Michael Linzey's office at St. Joseph's Hospital in Orange, the doctor was doubtful.

I had trepidation about a 52-year-old woman having a baby, said Linzey, assistant medical director of the hospital's perinatal program.

But just by getting pregnant, Pelcak had already beaten the odds. According to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, success rates for assisted reproduction drop dramatically as women age. For women under 35, more than a third of procedures result in live births. By age 41 or 42, that number drops to 10 percent.

In 2001, she gave birth to daughter Natasja through in vitro fertilization.

Her first words to Linzey while she was on the operating table: Get ready, doc, I might have another.

And once again, she did in vitro fertilization and the baby was brought to term. But mom was beginning to show early signs of preeclampsia, a hypertensive condition which can lead to illness and death in mothers and newborns.

Six months before she got pregnant again, she told me she wanted to do this, Linzey said. I took a deep breath and said, 'Are you sure, Carolyn?' But knowing this patient, and from everything, I could see there was no reason not to go ahead with it, so we did.

As for societal criticism, Pelcak is getting her share. Complete strangers tell her they're appalled that she would do such a thing.

But Pelcak, who has a friend to help with childcare, doesn't mind. I put it in God's hands. If you're meant to be a mother, you will.

[Sorry, full article is no longer available online]

Photo credit: OCregister.com
All rights reserved

---

TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
Pregnancy Miracle
by Lisa Olsen

-- A 279-page, instantly downloadable e-book presenting a 5-step, sure-fire, 100% guaranteed, clinically proven holistic and ancient Chinese system for permanently reversing your infertility and your partner's infertility disorders and getting pregnant quickly, naturally and safely within 2-4 months without drugs, dangerous surgeries, side effects, or expensive infertility treatments.

It's probably the most powerful infertility reversal system ever developed, and currently the best-selling e-book of its kind on the entire Web!

Here's what the author Lisa Olson had to say about her incredible program:
After 14 years of trial, error, and experimentation, I finally discovered the answer to infertility and developed a fool-proof system to getting pregnant the natural way - no drugs, or surgery necessary.

It took a lot of research to get to where I am today, to know exactly what works and what doesn't. Yes, after desperate trial and error, countless of useless treatments, disappointments, and agony, a simple holistic system opened the door to my new and much brighter life of motherhood.

I was also excited to see that my other infertility related symptoms had diminished. After years of waiting, I was finally free from Infertility! I have become a proud mother of two.

And now I'm finally revealing my secrets in this new 'encyclopedia' of pregnancy called, Pregnancy Miracle.

I will be your own personal coach, take you by the hand, and lead you through the lousy advice, hype and gimmicks... and directly to the sort of inner balance perfection that will end your battle with infertility forever and help you become a proud mother of your healthy children.


Click to order/for more info on this helpful program:
Pregnancy Miracle

Picture caption: Mary Shearing gave birth to twin daughters in November 1992 at the age of 53. Amy and Kelly, now 20 years old, prove that fertility treatment allowing postmenopausal women to have babies is not a new phenomenon.

November 12, 1992 - A 53-year-old grandmother who became pregnant through test-tube fertilization has given birth to twin girls.

The new mother, Mary Shearing, is apparently the oldest woman ever to have given birth to a test-tube baby in the United States.

Dennis Gaschen, a spokesman at Martin Luther Hospital, where the twins were delivered on Tuesday, said the oldest post-menopausal woman in the nation to have delivered a test-tube baby previously was 52.

The Guinness Book of Records lists the oldest mother as a woman nearly 57 1/2 years old who gave birth in California in 1956.

Mrs. Shearing's babies, born 12 weeks prematurely and both weighing less than three pounds, were listed as being in guarded condition today. One was delivered vaginally, the other by Caesarean section.

Mrs. Shearing, who has three children and two grandchildren from a previous marriage, was going through menopause when she was implanted on May 15 with embryos obtained by using donated eggs and sperm from her 32-year-old husband, Don. Hormones were used in the first trimester to sustain the pregnancy.

This Pregnancy Over 40 story was found on NYtimes.com
Read more: California Woman, 53, Gives Birth to Twins,
Originally published November 12, 1992

Photo credit: bioethicsbytes.wordpress.com
All rights reserved

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
Having Your Baby Through Egg Donation
by Ellen Sarasohn, Evelina Weidman Sterling

-- A comprehensive book for people considering parenthood through donated ova, and those supporting them.

It takes readers through the decision-making process, focusing on questions they are likely to be asking themselves, including: Are we candidates for egg donation? Will it work?

How much does it cost? How do we find a donor?

How do we talk about our decision with others? How will we tell our children? Ethical questions related to egg donation are also examined:

Can a donor truly have informed consent?
Is it ethically correct for donors to receive payment, and, if so, is the payment for 'time and effort' or for their eggs?

Hardcover: 384 pages
Click to order/for more info: Having Your Baby Through Egg Donation


Start reading Having Your Baby Through Egg Donation on your Kindle in under a minute!

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

I've done a lot of genealogy research along with my girlfriend (on her family) and there were SO MANY natural oops babies in their late forties, and early 50's.

Keep up the hope ladies!

~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~

Hello all, I am 52 years old, and I am five months pregnant with my fourth child...

This was actually unplanned (and a big surprise because I thought it was menopause, I couldn't believe it!)

But I think that I'm adjusting fine to the fact I am getting up there (age-wise) and expecting.

Bear in mind I have a 26-year-old (with a one-year-old), a 19-year-old, and I also have a 10-year-old.

I plan to have a natural birth, but I am nervous about it.

So far the pregnancy has been fine for the most part except I have had some extreme back pain, and some heartburn as well, and I've had a lot of bed rest.

Luckily, I have a supportive husband who has always done his part and continues to do so, and my children have been very supportive.

It seems odd my newborn will be younger than his or her niece, but I think this part will be just fine.

~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~

I can't relate to being an over 50 mom, but I'm the daughter of an over 50 mom.

I am child #7, arriving when my mom was 55 years old, and her second menopause baby!

Most of our nieces and nephews were older than us, except two were born within 8 months of me!

My sisters said what was weird was being pregnant when Mom was, and she didn't go crazy over the grandkids as much as their in-laws did.

I was so lucky to have her for 40 years after my birth, my older kids loved her sooo much.

~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~

I didn't heed one sage piece of advice my mom gave us girls our entire life...

Honey, if the plumbing ain't yanked out, it can work

Thus, here I am pregnant at 44 years old since my plumbing was intact.

All of my sisters had a baby past 40 years old, so I'm not the only one!

~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~

My grandmother was 51 years old when she had her last baby.

---

TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
Pregnancy After 40: 40 Things No One Told You About Being Pregnant Over 40 (Pregnancy Plan Series)
by Jill Conrad, Pregnancy Support Institute

-- So you're over 40 and you've decided to get pregnant. You are not alone.

A growing number of women are waiting to have a baby until they are over 40.
This book will reveal:

♥ How you can have a healthy baby in your forties (in spite of all the warnings).
♥ What the biggest risks are and what you can do about them (it may not be as bad as you think)
♥ The 3 most important things you can do to have a healthy baby after 40 (you might already be doing some of them)
♥ Why older mothers often make better parents (the surprising reason)
♥ The one thing you should do every night to keep you fertile and able to conceive naturally (it takes 5 minutes)
…and Much More!

So get started and discover how to have the safest pregnancy and the healthiest baby when you are over 40 and pregnant.

Start reading Pregnancy After 40 on your Kindle in under a minute!

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

Many women have written to Dear Abby to ask about their over 40 pregnancy...

The Kansas City Star - Aug. 01, 2011
Dear Abby;
My parents had a bonus baby when they were in their early 40s. I was 17 years old, and my brother was 13 years old when we found out.
-- Proud Big Sister in Chicago

Dear Abby;
I was pregnant with twins at 45 years old, and my then-18-year-old daughter was furious with me, going as far as banning me from her high school graduation. It hurt, and I agonized over the decision, but in the end, I waddled in any way. I am so glad I did.
-- Unexpected Surprise in Texas

Dear Abby;
I was 42 years old with children ages 12 and 17, when we were surprised by an unplanned pregnancy. We were concerned, of course, with the statistics for a complicated pregnancy, so we had the testing done and trusted everything would be OK. My pregnancy and delivery were the best of all three, and my little girl has been a blessing to everyone.
-- Another Old Mom in Richmond

Bangor Daily News - Dec 19, 1997
Dear Abby;
At 44 years old, my mother announced to her doctor she might be pregnant with her seventh child. Without bothering to examine her, he informed her she was going thru the change. A few months later, Mom returned and said, If I am not pregnant, what is moving around in my stomach? That was me!

The Deseret News - Nov 10, 1992
Dear Abby;
I was 45 years old and my husband was 50 years old when I became pregnant. We had been childless for 22 years, and it was quite a shock, to put it mildly.

Daytona Beach Sunday News-Journal - Nov 21, 1986
Dear Abby;
Fifteen years ago, when I was 43 years old, and pregnant with my seventh child...

St. Joseph Gazette - Mar 30, 1979
Dear Abby;
After 24 years of marriage, my mother became pregnant. She was 47 years old and my father 55 years old. They were thrilled and are now the proud parents of a baby girl.

Daytona Beach Morning Journal - Apr 9, 1974
Dear Abby;
I am 44 years old and pregnant, but that's not my problem. I have had 27 children.

The Deseret News - Jan 9, 1969
Dear Abby;
Tell that 44-year-old woman who cried her eyes out and blamed her husband when she discovered she was pregnant, she should dry her eyes and thank God. I was 46 years old when the same thing happened to me. And my own mom was 48 years old when I was born.
-- San Diego

The Evening Independent - Nov 30, 1968
Dear Abby;
I am 44 years old, and always worked to help with extras and to assure our children of a college education — then discovered I was pregnant! ...

St. Joseph Gazette - Jul 17, 1963
Dear Abby;
Many women are able to bear children in their 50s - and have the children to prove it.

---

TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
How to Get Pregnant Fast: Crucial Knowledge for Getting Pregnant
by Hillary J Lowndes

-- Discover the keys to getting giving yourself the best chances of getting pregnant. Don't surround yourself with information about what not to do.

Instead, you can take proactive steps to make sure that everything is just right. If you feel you can't get pregnant it may be because you're not taking the right approach.

The best way to get pregnant doesn't have to be stressful.

You can take control once you learn some of the science and some of the secrets that have been passed down through time.

Paperback: 124 pages
Click to order/for more info: How to Get Pregnant Fast

May 8, 2014 -- Sital Das Pal, 60, and Sarbani, 52, had been trying to have a child since they married 35 years ago.

The couple finally became parents on April 29th when Sarbani gave birth to twins.

The process was long and difficult, but the mother and the babies are doing well.

This is the first such case in India, said Ranjit Chakraborty, a consultant gynecologist at Bhagirathi Neotia Woman and Child Care Centre.

The couple from Durgapur had approached the hospital's fertility clinic, Genome.

The woman had her menopause and her husband had low sperm count because of his age, said Rohit Gutgutia, the doctor in charge of the clinic.

A 31-year-old woman was selected as an egg donor. Both she and Sarbani were put on medication.

Once ready, the eggs were retrieved from the donor and semen samples were collected from the husband.

Sperm was injected into the eggs and the embryos transferred to Sarbani's uterus.

After 32 weeks, Sarbani developed pregnancy-induced hypertension and jaundice, which made the doctors perform an emergency Caesarean section.

The baby boys are now in the hospital's special care section.

The birth of our babies was the best moment in our lives, said Sarbani.

A woman's ability to bear a child goes down by half after 40. She cannot bear a child naturally after menopause. Hence, the birth of the twins is special, said Chakraborty.

It is rare for a woman in her 50s to give birth. However, we have to keep in mind the social aspect of bearing children at an advanced age, said city-based gynecologist Bikash Banerjee.

This Pregnancy Over 40 story was found on TelegraphIndia.com
Read more: Woman in 50s gives birth to twin boys
Originally posted on May 8, 2014.
Photo credit: TelegraphIndia.com

---

TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:

Birth Begins at Forty: Challenging the Myths of Late Motherhood
by Elizabeth Gregory

-- More and more women are giving birth in their forties, and for some, it will be their first baby.

What was unusual is now becoming quite common, yet little has been written on this dramatic shift.

This book tells all and is the result of honest and revealing interviews.

The book covers a range of topics, including: the trend to late parenthood; how do you decide?; how easy is it?; the risks and differences with late motherhood; combating age prejudice; getting life back on track; having another baby; fathers over 40; and the benefits and delights.

Paperback: 203 pages
Click to order/for more info: Birth Begins at Forty

We shouldn't be making assumptions that every older mother did donor egg, nor should we put too much hope in stories of much older women conceiving with their own eggs.

Look at the trends, and make your own decision about how long you want to fight the trend by trying with your own eggs, vs. deciding the time has come to accept the odds are just so stacked against you that you must move on to other alternatives.

Remember, too, that is really is not all age related. I apparently lost my egg quality in my late 20s, as do some women. Others retain their fertility into their 50s.

An Israeli RE [reproductive endocrinologist] named Neri Laufer just discovered a gene in certain women which corresponds to later fertility. He was fascinated by the number of older pregnant women coming into the hospital for delivery.

You can google his name if you want to read about it. His group included women up into their early 50's. So much for any stats showing that NO women conceive in this age group!

For those who just can't let go of the belief all pregnant women over 45 must have used donor eggs, consider the population Laufer studied. These were mostly, if not all, ultra-religious women for whom DE [donor eggs] would have been prohibited.

Imagine you have ten kids already, you're living on government assistance and still exist below the poverty line, donor egg is not offered in your country, and your religious leader forbids the procedure anyway.

Now you tell me -- all these women secretly squirreled away thousands of dollars, disappeared from their communities for a couple of weeks to go to the Ukraine, defied their religious teachings, all in an effort to get pregnant with baby #11? Use your common sense!

The same can be applied to the Native American women living on reservations. Many have a lot of kids already and can't afford groceries let alone donor egg IVF cycles. The problem with middle and upper-class American women like us is we think we are representative of every group (and our RE's [reproductive endocrinologist] promote that thinking too because they are victims of the same egocentric system).

If it becomes impossible for US to conceive after age 43, well, then, that must be true of everyone. Only it's not true. It's really not even true for our demographic.

RE's choose to present certain information based on the context. When they are counseling a 40 yr old with high FSH [follicle stimulating hormone] about her treatment options, of course they are going to highlight fertility trends in the general population and the success rates of certain treatment options because this is what is relevant to her. The goal is to get her a baby, not turn her into a rare statistic.

She has to make an informed decision based on medical facts as to what will give her the best odds of success. After age 40 and with high FSH, that's donor egg.

But if you ask that same doctor in another context, say, a conversational context, about much older women conceiving, he will concede yes, it is absolutely possible and does happen, though not as often as we would like.

If your doctor subscribes to the notion no women get pregnant naturally after 45, then your doctor is an idiot and you should get another doctor -- it means they are not up on basic information in their field.

---

TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
Pregnancy Miracle
by Lisa Olsen

-- A 279-page, instantly downloadable e-book presenting a 5-step, sure-fire, 100% guaranteed, clinically proven holistic and ancient Chinese system for permanently reversing your infertility and your partner's infertility disorders and getting pregnant quickly, naturally and safely within 2-4 months without drugs, dangerous surgeries, side effects, or expensive infertility treatments.

It's probably the most powerful infertility reversal system ever developed, and currently the best-selling e-book of its kind on the entire Web!

Here's what the author Lisa Olson had to say about her incredible program:
After 14 years of trial, error, and experimentation, I finally discovered the answer to infertility and developed a fool-proof system to getting pregnant the natural way - no drugs, or surgery necessary.

It took a lot of research to get to where I am today, to know exactly what works and what doesn't. Yes, after desperate trial and error, countless of useless treatments, disappointments, and agony, a simple holistic system opened the door to my new and much brighter life of motherhood.

I was also excited to see that my other infertility related symptoms had diminished. After years of waiting, I was finally free from Infertility! I have become a proud mother of two.

And now I'm finally revealing my secrets in this new 'encyclopedia' of pregnancy called, Pregnancy Miracle.

I will be your own personal coach, take you by the hand, and lead you through the lousy advice, hype and gimmicks... and directly to the sort of inner balance perfection that will end your battle with infertility forever and help you become a proud mother of your healthy children.


Click to order/for more info on this helpful program:
Pregnancy Miracle

Photo Credit: Kirsten Gillibrand - All Rights Reserved

Famous Moms Over 40

Biological clocks be damned, more American women than ever are having babies at an age when previous generations might have been sending their kids off to college.

The number of women delivering their bundles of joy after age 40 has doubled in the past two decades, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

Meet a diverse group of women - from Madonna to Sarah Palin - who have defied the odds of giving birth at 41, 51 and beyond.

This Pregnancy Over 40 story was found on TheDailyBeast.com

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
Pregnancy After 40: 40 Things No One Told You About Being Pregnant Over 40 (Pregnancy Plan Series)
by Jill Conrad, Pregnancy Support Institute

-- So you're over 40 and you've decided to get pregnant. You are not alone.

A growing number of women are waiting to have a baby until they are over 40.
This book will reveal:

♥ How you can have a healthy baby in your forties (in spite of all the warnings).
♥ What the biggest risks are and what you can do about them (it may not be as bad as you think)
♥ The 3 most important things you can do to have a healthy baby after 40 (you might already be doing some of them)
♥ Why older mothers often make better parents (the surprising reason)
♥ The one thing you should do every night to keep you fertile and able to conceive naturally (it takes 5 minutes)
…and Much More!

So get started and discover how to have the safest pregnancy and the healthiest baby when you are over 40 and pregnant.

Start reading Pregnancy After 40 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 sure you've heard the term menopause baby.

Women in their 50s, who think they are no longer fertile, and skip using birth control, sometimes find out the hard way they are still more than capable of becoming pregnant.

While it is true your risk of becoming pregnant declines each year as you move towards menopause, there's always a chance you still can get pregnant.

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

During peri-menopause, a woman can still get pregnant.

As such, the term menopause baby is a misnomer, since a woman who is truly in menopause has already lost her fertility.

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

Dr. Hillard: You are, technically, still fertile until one year after your last menstrual period (which incidentally, you don't know is your last until it's been a year! CATCH 22).

Many of us have heard about the menopause baby our mother/grandmother/great aunt or other family member thought was the change of life and turned out to be pregnancy, with all of its life changes.

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

My mother was a menopause baby.

My grandmother had her when she was 47 years old, and my grandfather was 50 years old, in 1931.

She had three other children aged 21, 19, and 10 years old.

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

I am sure a lot of people will be asking, Is it possible for a 49-year-old menopausal woman to get pregnant?

Yes, it is, said Direk Maryo. I am a menopause baby.

My mother was 49 years old when she had me.

---

Photo credit: Talktothepress.co.uk - All rights reserved

At the age of 54, Karen Johnston could be counting down the days until her eight children have all flown the nest.

Instead, she's having two more of them.

A self-confessed baby addict, she was devastated when she went through the menopause six years ago.

She was told she was too old to have IVF in Britain.

Thanks to IVF treatment in a foreign clinic, Mrs. Johnston is now six months pregnant with twins - 33 years after she had her first child.

This Pregnancy Over 40 story was found on Dailymail.co.uk
Read more: Twins at 54 for the mother who didn't think eight was enough
Originally posted on March 11, 2010.

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
The Fertile Kitchen Cookbook: Simple Recipes for Optimizing Your Fertility
by Cindy Bailey and Pierre Giauque

-- Are you one of the millions of couples desperately trying to conceive a baby? Are you aware diet plays a critical role in fertility? Would you like to unlock the secrets to changing your diet and potentially increasing your chances of success?

Co-authors Cindy Bailey and Pierre Giauque -- when confronted with Cindy's medical prognosis of a two percent chance of conceiving a baby on her own -- unlocked those secrets to develop a fertility diet that four months later produced a viable pregnancy, and soon after a healthy baby.

The Fertile Kitchen™ Cookbook includes a variety of simple-to-make tasty dishes that make the diet easy to follow. In this cookbook, the authors share these flavorful recipes, along with the dietary guidelines that helped them succeed. Additional tips and even a section on cooking basics are included.

You will learn: The importance of diet in conception and pregnancy, what foods you can and cannot eat to enhance fertility, how to identify and shop for healthy ingredients and food items, how to prepare the nutritious and fertility-enhancing recipes included.

Paperback: 185 pages
Click to order/for more info: The Fertile Kitchen Cookbook

---

Yes, of course, it is possible there might be a few who might have stretched the truth a bit in their post, or mis-remembered the person's age.

But still, it is hard to believe nearly 3,000 people are all telling a lie, or making up a story.

Sure, maybe one or two of them made it up.

But such a small number is irrelevant.

My grandmother had three children in her 40s, and I grew up not believing it to be unusual at all for a woman over 40 years old to get pregnant.

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

I am 45 years old, soon to be 46 years old - and I am due with my first baby on May 10th.

I went the fertility specialist route for a bit, but we only did it half-heartedly because I felt for sure there was no way I would ever get pregnant...

That I was too old, my eggs were no good, etc. But I was wrong.

I can't say I was trying at all, but I guess that's how it happens sometimes!

I just had my last ultrasound, and the baby is perfect in every way... healthy, normal and very busy!

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

Last night, on the tubing slopes, I talked to a women who had her fourth child naturally at 45 years old.

Her other three children had been born over nine years prior.

She said she conceived with no problem within six months of trying.

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

I happened to sit with a 49 year old woman and her five year old son.

Making idle conversation, I found out she got pregnant naturally the first month she tried to get pregnant at 43 years old.

Prior to that, she had a booming career and had always been on birth control.

Also, it was interesting to find out she is an MD [medical doctor].

Ironically, her husband thought he was infertile, because tests in his previous marriage had determined his very low sperm count was responsible for their infertility.

This was his first child.

She said this goes to show you should never quit trying...

What works for one couple may not work for another couple.

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

I am 52 years old, and I have just been told I may be pregnant.

My HCG [Human chorionic gonadotropin] blood count is elevated, and I have missed my period for the last two months.

---

TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
Enhancing Fertility Naturally: Holistic Therapies for a Successful Pregnancy
by Nicky Wesson

-- outlines ways in which you can improve your fertility through alternative therapies, diet, exercise, and relaxation techniques and avoid some of the hazards associated with conventional treatments.

It discusses the most common causes of infertility and explains how to determine which therapy is most appropriate for you.

In vitro fertilization, conventional medicine's most prescribed remedy for infertility problems is expensive, dangerous, and has a success rate of only 14 percent, yet few of the one in six couples that experience infertility are aware of the effectiveness and safety provided by the wide range of alternative treatments.

Thoroughly researched and packed full of invaluable advice and tips, the book explores such therapies as acupuncture, reflexology, homeopathy, cranial osteopathy, aromatherapy, and herbalism.

The author includes case histories for each of the therapies discussed, showing how the therapies helped couples overcome both primary and secondary infertility in order to have the baby they longed for.

Paperback: 192 pages
Click to order/for more info: Enhancing Fertility Naturally

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Photo credit: Sitthixay Ditthavong/Associated Press

Faced with cervical cancer at a young age, Emily Jordan underwent a radical hysterectomy.

Doctors were able to save her ovaries. She thought she and her husband would never have their own children.

Jordan told the Associated Press that before the surgery, the doctor told her that she was pregnant. She was devastated.

Her mother, Cindy Reutzel, decided to step in, offering to be a surrogate so that her daughter and son-in-law could have a child.

Reutzel is in her early 50s and has remained in good health.

She says reactions have been positive and is adamant once the baby is born, she will be the grandmother.

Jordan says that her mother's offer is a continuation of everything she had done for her, in making sure she had the best life possible.

Read more: Grandmother gives birth to her own grandchild

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
The Insider's Guide to Egg Donation: A Compassionate and Comprehensive Guide for All Parents-to-Be
by Wendie Wilson-Miller and Erika Napoletano

-- In their search for alternative means for building a family, those who face infertility turn to the nearly 500 reproductive specialty clinics across the United States.

While egg donors enter into the picture for a variety of reasons, every reason has the same desired result: a family to call one's own.

Same-sex and single-by-choice parents are more prevalent than ever in the fertility industry, and there is no definitive, up-to-date guide to help families of all types approach egg donation, especially these niche groups.

Resources are fragmented, true regardless of the family structure.

The Insider's Guide to Egg Donation is the first how-to-handbook that helps families of all types navigate the less talked about but widely practiced egg donor landscape with a warm and friendly tone, giving those in search of a different kind of stork the answers and information they need as they begin to research family-building options.

Paperback: 280 pages
Click to order/for more info: The Insider's Guide to Egg Donation

Start reading The Insider's Guide to Egg Donation 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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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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Hey... I am still shaking at the sight of the second pink line...

Here is some new hope for anyone, who like me - had given up TTC [trying to conceive] last month.

I tried Acupuncture, Clomid, every vitamin regiment on this site I read about, all of it.

Then after 18 months of this - and at the ripe old age of 47 years old, I decided I was beating my head against a wall.

I decided to be grateful for the kids and the life I had.

I lost 14 pounds, and ate and exercised like I loved myself more than anything... and whamo!

Just when I am looking at skin tight shorts and tops for the summer... BFP [big fat positive - pregnancy test]

You couldn't wipe the grin off my face for anything...

Thanks to all of you for all the words of wisdom and information you all share with each other, it has been so helpful.

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Her name was Margaret Krasiowa.

She was born in Konin, Poland, in the year 1655, and died in 1763 at the age of 108 completed years.

At 94 years old, she married her third husband, who was then 105 years old.

During the 14 years they lived together, she bore him two boys and a girl.

This scenario, if true, represents probably the most fascinating documented case of childbearing at older maternal age.

Before the time of Margaret Krasiowa and even in our contemporary world, childbearing beyond the maternal age of 50 years has been a source of curiosity frequently punctuated with disbelief because of its rarity.

Although extremely rare, women can naturally continue bearing children even beyond the age of 50 years.

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Previously, the reported age of women was truncated and documented as 49 years old on US public-access national natality files if they were 50 years old or older.

The decision of the National Centre for Health Statistics in 1997 to start recording on vital record files the actual age of pregnant women aged 50-54 years provided a unique opportunity to examine the magnitude of fetal morbidity and mortality in this age group of mothers.

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Of 12,066,854 deliveries resulting in live births or fetal deaths in the United States between 1997-1999 inclusive, 539 were to women aged 50 and older (four per 100,000).

The socio-demographic characteristics of pregnant women achieving pregnancy at 50 years and older are summarized in TABLE1 and compared with the other age groups.

Older mothers belonged to three broad racial groups.

The overwhelming majority of them were white, with Asian or Pacific Islanders (the main component of the group denoted as other) and black women constituting the rest.

Whereas the proportion of blacks among pregnant mothers declined with advancing age, Asian and Pacific Islanders increased.

Primiparity showed a roughly U-shaped pattern, being most frequent in the 20-29 age group, with a trough at the 40-49 age category, and another modest increase at 50 years and older.

Great grand multiparity was most frequent among older mothers, twice the frequency in the 40-49-year-old group.

The majority of women aged at least 50 years were married, had received at least 12 years of education, but surprisingly, only about half of them could be described as having utilized prenatal care services adequately.

For cases where information was available, smoking and alcohol ingestion during pregnancy were relatively rare habits among older pregnant women in comparison with younger mothers.

Multiple gestations, on the other hand, were most frequent among 50-year-old mothers, comprising about one-third of all deliveries in this age group.

This rate for multiple pregnancies was seven times that of 40-year-olds.

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Thought I would share with you my experience tonight - meeting a woman who was 48 years old when she had her twin boys.

My husband and I went to the mall this evening, so I could get my glasses fixed, and let my little guy get tuckered out at the indoor playground.

Well, my son was roughhousing with this other little boy, and I went to chat with him when the child's mother came up to me.

We started chatting and she noticed I was pregnant and asked me when I was due etc...

Anyway, she told me she had her twins at 48 years old!!

She and her husband are married for 23 years, and tried and tried.

But finally, they both resolved themselves to be without children.

When low and behold, she found out she was pregnant at 48 years old!

They love their little guys, had no evasive testing done when she was pregnant and were shocked to find out they were having twins.

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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

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