The world loves a Hollywood baby and would that baby be any less of a star if we knew the bundle of joy was conceived via IVF?
Of course not.
We would love Amal and George Clooney twin babies just as much or Beyonce’s brood if that was the case.
Gallery: Celebrities who are open about their experiences with IVF. (Post continues…)
But that’s not the issue, and I know nothing about these Hollywood conceptions.
Beyonce, 35, is a young second-time mum and Amal is the same age as me, 39, and I’ve fallen pregnant too – naturally – before my 40th birthday.
Lucky me and lucky us, because as women pass the age of 40 their fertility decreases.
Leading fertility specialist, Dr Devora Lieberman, says older high-profile mothers in Hollywood who are having miracle babies later in life can set unrealistic goals for other women.
Halle Berry says she “prayed” for her baby at 47, Geena Davis and Kelly Preston had babies at 48 and Janet Jackson gave birth to her first baby in January at 50.
“I think it gives the average woman, who might be struggling to get pregnant in her early to mid-forties, false hope,” Genea’s Dr Lieberman told Mamamia.
“To think that if Halle Berry can do it. If Kelly Preston can do it at 47, surely, I can as well. So I think it does make people feel that their fertility window is probably wider than it really is.”
Who knows how these miracle babies were conceived – we only know about the famous women who do let the world know they’ve had an IVF baby.
Model Chrissy Teigen told the world Luna was an IVF baby and then faced criticism over gender selection.
Khloe Kardashian has documented her fertility struggles in Keeping Up With the Kardashians and Courtney Cox has been upfront about her IVF baby and fertility issues in the media.
When Australian TV host Sonia Kruger became pregnant at 48 she thanked her “baby whisperer” fertility doctor publicly.
“If more celebrities came out and told women how it really is, it might help hammer the point home that there is no ‘miracle’ baby after the age of 45,” she told Kidspot.
Kruger’s honesty has helped others and she has been praised by fertility specialists.
“By 42 half of women won’t be able to get pregnant at all with their own eggs and by 45 almost nobody gets pregnant with their own eggs, ever,” says Dr Lieberman.
Listen: Have pregnancy announcements gone too far?
“It’s probably nobody’s business and if people want to keep that information private we have to respect that but I think it would be helpful if more people were upfront about their treatment,” she added.
“More and more people have been upfront about their IVF treatment lately and I think that helps de-stigmatise and open up the conversation for women to feel more comfortable,” she said.
Top Comments
This article is so misleading. It's not IVF that is giving these women babies. It's IVF with DONOR EGGS. There is not a single recorded case in the history of IVF of a woman over the age of 45 falling pregnant via IVF with her OWN eggs. I should know. I've been on that roller coaster for three years and every single doctor and clinic have all told me this. I and am now pregnant at 46 by using donor eggs from my cousin's wife.
I think very few women, particularly those who are are having trouble conceiving, would think that all of these older women had conceived naturally, without the assistance of IVF...