
Australia’s oldest mum gave birth on Monday after undergoing fertility treatment at 63. The Tasmanian woman and her 78-year-old husband had reportedly been trying for a baby for years and managed to conceive using a donor embryo overseas and undergoing IVF treatment.
Instead of being congratulated and showered in love like other new mothers, this new mum is being labelled as ‘irresponsible’ for bringing a child into the world at her age.
The medical professionals who administered her fertility treatments are also being slammed.
I, for one, couldn’t be happier for her. For me the birth of a new baby is always a beautiful time, regardless of the age of the mother involved. I admire her for a few reasons.
Australian comedian Mary Coustas underwent 23 rounds of IVF before conceiving her daughter Jamie. She and Mia Freedman spoke about her experience on the podcast No Filter!
Firstly, she didn’t give up on her dream of motherhood after undergoing fertility treatment for years, probably decades.
Secondly, she didn’t let her advancing years stop her from doing what she wanted.
Fertility treatments are a miracle and we should all have equal access to them, regardless of our age or circumstances.
Otherwise, we’ll end up living in a society where other people get to decide for us if and when we can become parents.
That’s not the kind of society I want to be a part of.
I’m also just really sick of older women being judged for deciding to become parents.
To quote my daughter, who was conceived accidentally, “It’s none of their beeswax”.
If anything, children conceived using fertility treatments are even more cherished (if that’s possible) than those conceived naturally, because the mums have been through so much to get there. There’s nothing accidental about them.
To the medical professionals who have weighed in on Australia’s oldest mum, I would like to say: You are not gods. You don’t get to decide who does and doesn’t get to be a mum.
Take, for example, Professor Gab Kovacs from Monash University who declared that ‘responsible’ IVF clinics refused treatments of women over the age of 53, saying that is the “end of natural pregnancy. That child will need looking after for 20 years, and there’s a possibility she won’t be able to do that.”
“Our bodies weren’t designed to have children in our 60s. I don’t think any responsible IVF unit in Australia would treat someone of that age, and it’s not a standard of medicine I would condone.”
It was a topic discussed on the Mamamia Out Loud podcast this week. Article continues after this video.
Top Comments
So... We still doing, "my body, my choice"? Or... What?
On another tack too - what privacy breakdown occurred that we even know about this family too? Waleed mentioned this side of it on the project last night. Obviously the parents didn't ask for it, as the picture has their face blurred. Who put it out there in the mainstream media?