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The oldest you've known someone to get pregnant naturally?

340 replies

ineedtowomanup · 29/12/2024 10:56

My Grandmother was 44 when she had my youngest uncle, a healthy pregnancy and my uncle is now 47.

What's the oldest you've known someone to conceive and give birth?

OP posts:
Suzypoo10 · 30/12/2024 20:21

I had my third child at 44. I thought it was the menopause as my mum went through menopause at 42, but it turned out to be a naturally conceived happy accident.

Bigcat25 · 30/12/2024 21:00

Newsenmum · 30/12/2024 19:47

This can’t be true!

Sorry I should have been more clear. It was a client, and I believe she conceived naturally but not 100 percent. She was very nice but seemed somewhat embarrassed about it, which was a bit sad. I wasn't judging.

Daisdoozles · 30/12/2024 21:59

I had my 2nd child at 41 and my 3rd at 43. All natural, all healthy and after being told at age 37 I had only a 5% chance of conceiving 😳

Charlotte120221 · 30/12/2024 22:02

My grandmother had her last baby aged 48. Definitely not hiding a grandchild as she had a baby every 2-4 years for 20 years…. Poor woman

Rhaenys · 30/12/2024 22:12

44, then 45 giving birth. 2 cases, one natural, the other via IVF with own eggs, but still harvested at 44 years.

JBJ · 30/12/2024 22:23

My friend, who I met when our now 18 year olds were tiny, was 47 when she had her one and only baby. They'd been trying for 25 years - no fertility issues found when investigated - and had obviously given up hope of it ever happening.

Wincher · 30/12/2024 23:12

I know someone who was 46, 47 I think by the time she had the baby. Complete surprise, second marriage. The baby is now late teens and the parents are mid to late 60s - I wouldn’t fancy that myself! I’m now mid 40s and would love to not have to use contraception but I’m very much done and don’t like the idea of a late mistake so I’d better carry on with it I guess!

ScruffMuffin · 30/12/2024 23:31

@Wincher yep, my GP once told me that we should take precautions until 55 to be absolutely sure. I was stunned at the time, but after reading this thread, I can see why it might be necessary! I took the pill, or had the implant, for about 20 years in total. I felt like I'd done my bit, so sent DH to be snipped a long time ago!

Didimag · 31/12/2024 00:02

A physio working in the Maternity unit, we had two mums aged 53. For one, it was her first child.

Spybot · 31/12/2024 00:03

I never met her, but my Great Gran had her last child at 50. That child turned out to be quite gifted intellectually. Amazing. This would have been in the late 1940s.

theduchessofspork · 31/12/2024 00:05

A friend at 46, baby born when she was 47

Baby all fine and now a characterful bright 4 year old.

The less said about her father (a brief fling) the better.

Oh and a colleague at 46 - an even shorter fling than the one above (with her builder no less), and her first child.

Jazzicatz · 31/12/2024 08:38

A woman I worked with was 49 when she got pregnant and 50 once her son was born. She thought it was perimenopause until she went to the doctor and they told her she was in fact pregnant.

ThisIsMessedUp · 31/12/2024 09:05

Women used to be fertile until older. Microplastics and enviromental pollutants have resulted in declining fertility for both woman and men, and earlier menopause.

ThisIsMessedUp · 31/12/2024 09:14

Also I should say most of my friends who TTC in their mid to late thirties required assisted conception /IVF.

We were lucky not to need this (late thirties for ours) but were unable to conceive a third at 41 onwards.

The cases in this thread are outliers and not the norm/mean.

anon4net · 31/12/2024 16:14

Ironically enough a friend just announced a birth at age 47 just before Christmas. Natural conception, child 6 (though youngest was 5) her other children arrived when she was 30-42. She didn't announce because she thought the baby wouldn't make it purely based on her age. Made announcement with photos from the last 4/5 months of her pregnancy.

Outside of her, I know many people who were 40-45, from first babies through to 4th/5th/6th babies. Many naturally conceived twins in there.

I have one friend that did embryo donation and successful pregnancy at 48.

Chocolatetoothache · 31/12/2024 16:19

Also I should say most of my friends who TTC in their mid to late thirties required assisted conception /IVF.

A majority of women don’t need this in their mid to late 30s so for most of your friends to require it was unlucky.

Almostwelsh · 31/12/2024 16:59

Chocolatetoothache · 31/12/2024 16:19

Also I should say most of my friends who TTC in their mid to late thirties required assisted conception /IVF.

A majority of women don’t need this in their mid to late 30s so for most of your friends to require it was unlucky.

I suspect that at least some of the women who have IVF first babies mid 30s or later were probably sub fertile all along, they just didn't know until they started trying at 30+

Many of the natural conceptions at advanced age are from women who have already had children, often larger families. Women with tested fertility.

Newsenmum · 31/12/2024 17:16

noodlebugz · 30/12/2024 20:11

56 - had a coil. (Legitimately IMHO) Assumed it was the menopause so didn’t find out until about half way through.

Jesus what did you do!

Newsenmum · 31/12/2024 17:17

Chocolatetoothache · 31/12/2024 16:19

Also I should say most of my friends who TTC in their mid to late thirties required assisted conception /IVF.

A majority of women don’t need this in their mid to late 30s so for most of your friends to require it was unlucky.

Not true for me. First baby easy and first cycle, second years and ivf.

Cherrysoup · 31/12/2024 17:18

Colleague who was 49. Very unexpected. Child is now 16, I think. Perfectly healthy.

Edited to say, it wasn’t her first child. Her dd had by this time had a child.

Newsenmum · 31/12/2024 17:19

ThisIsMessedUp · 31/12/2024 09:05

Women used to be fertile until older. Microplastics and enviromental pollutants have resulted in declining fertility for both woman and men, and earlier menopause.

Yup there are far more fertility problems at a ‘younger’ age. Also we need to remember that 38 isn’t actually ‘young’ for fertility, even if it doesn’t sound very nice. Fertility is just the youth part or womanhood.

MrsMoastyToasty · 31/12/2024 17:29
  1. It was my friend's 6th child and she thought she was going through the menopause. Her eldest was 25 at the time (and still gets mistaken for his little sister's dad).
Krampers · 31/12/2024 17:57

Almostwelsh · 31/12/2024 16:59

I suspect that at least some of the women who have IVF first babies mid 30s or later were probably sub fertile all along, they just didn't know until they started trying at 30+

Many of the natural conceptions at advanced age are from women who have already had children, often larger families. Women with tested fertility.

Wrong
A friend fell pregnant accident 33 (termination)
First baby 40 but needed IVF
There are so many factors but its call secondary infertility and is actually quite common in the IVF clinic.

Almostwelsh · 31/12/2024 18:01

Krampers · 31/12/2024 17:57

Wrong
A friend fell pregnant accident 33 (termination)
First baby 40 but needed IVF
There are so many factors but its call secondary infertility and is actually quite common in the IVF clinic.

Edited

One person isn't really a representative sample size. And 40 isn't mid 30s anyway.

PeloMom · 31/12/2024 18:02

47 for the woman, 68 for the man

ETA it was an accident. No issue pregnancy.