Woman, 57, thought she had cancer until doctors told her she was 30 weeks pregnant

[TheBlonde]

Woman, 57, thought she had cancer until doctors told her she was 30 weeks pregnant

She did have IVF though

juule, do you really think you can't be too old to have a baby

But you cant compare why a fit and healthy young woman should not have IVF, with a woman the age of a grandma going through IVF!

Her age is good enough reason.

As the human body ages, it goes beyond just no longer ovulating.

Other factors which serve to support a healthy pregnancy - such as muscle tone - decline, as does the elasticity of the blood vessels, another element that supports a healthy pregnancy, joint and bone density, even blood and oxygen circulation - hence, why an older person doesn't tend to recover from injury as a younger person.

On the issue of parents dying and leaving their young children, then you must also consider those who are at risk of hereditary illness or engaging risky sports, or who have spent their youth damaging their body and increasing their chance of premature death... the list would of course go on.

she is too old
it just doesn't look right and i am now an older mother

mum must not be very bright either

stomach gets gradually bigger - moves (??? ) huge boobs and the rest of the stuff we suffer! Having IVF could this be........? No its cancer

LOTS of good reasons for menopause and why nature stops people from naturally reproducing at a given age just right there.

What age is too old? My own mother began menopause in her early 50's, had she given birth at 51, would that be too old? Is 49 too old? 48? I imagine perceptions of being 'too old' have changed over time and first time mothers of 42 would have been considered too old at one time.

Post menopausal - NOT talking about people who experience premature ovarian failure = too old.

People have been having babies at advanced ages for years.

My own grandmother had her 6th at 47 - she thought she was having menopause.

But menopause happens for a very good reason.

47 is hugely different to 57

My mother is 71. 10 years ago she was a reasonably fit and healthy 61 year old lady. She could not predict the next ten years of her life. Terminal cancer, high blood pressure, the effects of all the chemo, her husband having a stroke and being paralyzed in a wheelchair, and she being his carer.

Today, she cant even lift my 2 1/2 year old. 2 hours with my 6 year old and her head is exploding. She cant walk more than 5 minutes.

I hope that a woman who pays for IVF at the age of 57 has seriosly considered that her health MAY deteriorate, and that she MAY have to fork out an insane amount of money on mothershelps, nannies, etc, just for the privilege of putting a child on this planet. And I really hope that a 13 year old child will not have to see his mum in the same state as I, a 36 year old woman, have to see my mum in now.

It is not only about dying when your child is young. But about your child having to deal with a parent who is going through all the ailments of old age, when still just a child and in need of mothering.

i wonder what the average age for GRAND motherhood is in uk?

Cammelia - I haven't said that I don't think there is an age where you are too old. But who decides what age that is? However, as I said before who decides who is and isn't suitable to have a child?

Oh, PYBF, "it just doesn't look right" you can't decide on the basis of what someone looks like

See it starts to get silly.
And if it's an age thing, should all men be sterilised at a certain age?

She also spontaneously conceived, Paula.

Now keep in mind this was in the 1950 and medicine isn't what it is now.

She had started to skip periods and so the midwives assured her she was in menopause.

No scans and blood tests back for hormones back then.

No birth control other than expensive condoms available, either, or withdrawal.

She had no reason to disbelieve it was anything other than menopause.

She had her first child at 16!

Nobody can predict the next 10 years of their life.

having a baby puts a real strain on the heart/lungs etc. As women get older the risk of complications to them, and their child (and I'm not talking here about genetic problems in the child, so it still holds true even if the mother has a 'younger' donated egg.)

Risks to mother and child are greates with very young and very old mothers

my dad is 58, with a 2 year old child, his wife is quite a bit younger so will obviously be able to offer my sister a stable upbringing for years to come and my dad is helathy, wealthy and wise, 3 things that many younger parents are not, there have to be advantages to having an older parent, good luck to her.

Who decides? Well, Mother Nature does, juule. That's why there's the menopause, and as I explained farther down, there are many other factors which go into supporting a healthy pregnancy besides just ovulating a quality egg and fertilisation and these factors decline with age as well, hence, why menopause is not a bad thing.

LOL that ages makes you wealthy and wise.

Juuule, but you can predict that old age creep in.
But do you dispute the fact that people age as they grow older?

If late fifties was a good childbearing age, and the human body was fit to cope with rearing young children in the fifties and sixties, then I suppose more people would do it!

I'm an older mother.

I'm going to drill it into my daughters' heads to have 'em young!

Sorry, but I'm fit as a fiddle, but I will never have the energy as an equally fit woman ten years younger than I am.

Ageing happens.

You can be very healthy, but the body just moves through time. It happens.

I agree it is a difficult issue and my own initial view is that it is not an ideal situation. But there are so many situations that do not provide ideal parenting contexts and this will be far from the worst. I think we have to be careful not to judge in isolation of all the facts and without considering the implications of our judgement.

Expat, you talk about your g'mother's 6th child at 47 - was this a desirable situation? Is it less offensive because this wasn't the first child? Quint - yes, of course many elderly people suffer ill health, but everyone has a different life situation and tragic stories can be cited for any circumstance. What about a heavily smoking male wanting children at age 45 for example?

As I said before Mother Nature may have got it wrong. Nature isn't considerate.
If this woman's body wasn't healthy enough to carry a child then surely she would have m/c. As it is it looks like she's gone to term.

"I'm going to drill it into my daughters' heads to have 'em young!" - good luck telling your daughter to do something you didn't! That never seems to go down well...

No, she wasn't happy at first.

But hey ho, abortion was illegal back then except to the rich and they were dirt poor.

She was also five months along when she found out - she wasn't a skinny woman.

But most of all, she hadn't gone through menopause. She didn't need IVF and someone else's eggs to fall pregnant because she was so old she'd menopaused.

Oh, Walnut, you must be one of those older wiser people.

I bow to your font of knowledge.