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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To not know if I can get pregnant at 49?

495 replies

Holyguacamollie · 14/02/2023 13:57

I stopped using contraception a few months ago because quite frankly I'm sick of it and when I googled getting pregnant at 49.6 it said it was 0-1% chance.

It felt like v good odds.

However. I now 'feel' pregnant and I'm a bit panicked. Period due in a few days.

Surely I couldn't be could I?

OP posts:
Pearsandclocks · 14/02/2023 16:25

Unless your periods have stopped and you’ve been through the menopause of course you can get pregnant 🤦‍♀️

Maireas · 14/02/2023 16:28

@GloomyDarkness - no wonder that the GP was talking about it for years afterwards!
It's so lovely to hear that both she and the twins survived, that's beating some odds!
Older successful pregnancies do seem to run in families, anecdotally.

MeanCanadianLady · 14/02/2023 16:35

Of course you could. There are women who spontaneously ovulate as far out into their fifties even post menopause. Of course it’s very unusual but it can and does happen.

hothands · 14/02/2023 16:35

MadeOfSteel · 14/02/2023 16:15

I research my family tree as a hobby and many of my female ancestors were having babies well into their late 40s; one even had twins at 47!

Hope you get the right result for you, OP.

It's the same in my family tree but there's usually a largish gap between the second youngest and the last baby and I suspect that the surprise late pregnancy is actually a grandchild as has already been said. I doubt very much that working class women in their late forties would be fertile or healthy enough to carry a child to full term back in the 1800's/early 1900's.

Adrelaxzz · 14/02/2023 16:38

My lovely colleague had her youngest as a lovely surprise at 50. Her next one down was 22! She took early retirement when her daughter started school 😁

Adrelaxzz · 14/02/2023 16:39

It was definitely hers unless she had a pretend bump as well!

Luredbyapomegranate · 14/02/2023 16:39

Well, a friend had an accidental baby at 47 (now a very cute 2 year old).

But I do hope you aren’t.

ApolloandDaphne · 14/02/2023 16:44

You certainly could. Only a test will tell you for sure.

TheyHadGrace · 14/02/2023 16:48

My Aunt had a baby at 47. Surprise pregnancy - she thought she was going through menopause. She was definitely pregnant (I saw her!), and it was definitely not planned, as her older children were in their 20s and she had been planning to go on a round the world trip when she found out!

That’s the oldest I know of, though.
Hopefully you’re not pregnant, OP. I’m 45 and would freak out if I found out I was pregnant now. In fact, it’s a recurring anxiety dream of mine. I won’t give up contraception until I’m a proper oldie!

Doormatnomore · 14/02/2023 16:50

I know my great granny’s kid she had at almost 49 was hers because she was already raising a grandkid for her daughter. It wasn’t exactly celebrated but it wasn’t hidden either. By her own admission she was like brood mare.

greenspaces4peace · 14/02/2023 16:54

if you are having periods you can get pregnant. the bigger picture is whether the pregnancy progresses.

niugboo · 14/02/2023 16:58

You could be. But it’s more likely you’re experiencing the affects of coming off the pill whilst peri menopausal. But really you shouldn’t be having unprotected sex. The outcome of any pregnancy is at very high risk of being a bad one.

GloomyDarkness · 14/02/2023 16:59

Older successful pregnancies do seem to run in families, anecdotally.

In my DMum family its not late successful births - it's babies on the larger size of normal in female line only. People can be very opinionated about what is odd at population level but fairly normal in DMums family - I assume it's some genetic quirk in play.

neveradullmoment99 · 14/02/2023 17:04

I suppose it depends upon if you have gone through menopause or have regular periods still. If you do still have regular periods, you definitely could get pregnant. Its not as likely as if you were younger but the chance is still there.
My last baby was when I was 44. Then I went through peri-menopause soon after then full menopause at 50. Annoying went 11 months without a period and then bingo, it came. Then it sodded off for good. I still kept my contraception right up until I was past a year without any period just to be sure.

neveradullmoment99 · 14/02/2023 17:05

Good luck and fingers crossed for you that the result is what you want.

Shunkleisshiny · 14/02/2023 17:08

My eldest sister had been married 2 years when my Mum had my youngest sister! When my eldest sister had her daughter, my youngest sister became an aunt when she was just 3!

If this helps, before retirement I worked in the PRAS department at our local hospital, and the number of ladies around your age that attended appointments thinking they were pregnant were quite a few. It was very, very rare they were pregnant, usually peri menopause.

ViburnumFarreri · 14/02/2023 17:09

This woman wrote a column about it. www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/jan/09/luisa-dillner-pregnant-older-mum

Mariposista · 14/02/2023 17:18

I really hope this goes the way you want it to.

figmaofmyimagination · 14/02/2023 17:18

God I feel knackered at the very THOUGHT 😱

Good luck OP, hope it’s the answer you want.

AnyOldThings · 14/02/2023 17:27

many women experience a surge of fertility just before menopause so that’s why getting caught out can be easier than you’d think

Heyboooo · 14/02/2023 17:37

Good luck with the test x

WhereYouLeftIt · 14/02/2023 17:38

If you've only been off contraception for a few months, after presumably being on it for years/decades, is it possible that you are unused to the 'feel' of your body when that feel is not altered by contraception? A few months is not long.

What you are interpreting as 'feeling pregnant' might just be 'feeling my own undoctored body'.

NoGoodUsernamee · 14/02/2023 17:40

Unlikely but of course possible. Do you have dc? How would you feel if you are pregnant?

Original poster
Holyguacamollie · 14/02/2023 17:44

I'm going to town tomorrow so will get a test. What's a frer? My last pregnancy test was over 25 years ago! Is there a good type to buy these days?

Thank you. Feel pretty stressed at the thought.

OP posts:
ChatInMyFlat · 14/02/2023 17:46

My friend is currently pregnant... we're 49 (50 this year!!).