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[Simiantrousers]

Older celeb mums criticised

I think there is some truth to this, especially, "Women don't know how these celebrities conceived - it could have been through egg donation."

The risks of conceiving and giving birth tend to be brushed under the carpet a bit at the mo and waiting that long on purpose probably isn;t the wiset thing to do.

oops

fotgot to put a title on

But why should celebrities (and I use the word lightly) have less choice in starting a family than others, simply because they are in the public eye? Not everyone who has a child later in life does so through choice. I had DS1 at 37 and DS3 at 41. It wasn't a conscious lifestyle choice, but a question of not meeting someone I wanted to have children with earlier in my life.

It could well be the same for those in the public eye. Nicole Kidman has had at least one miscarriage so this was not a conscious choice to start a family later.

Obviously for some women fertility declines with age, but for others (myself included) age doesn't make much of a difference.

Oh please! Like women are too stupid to figure things out for themselves! Surely there are very few women who would delay having children just because Halle Berry did!

That's not what he's saying I think. It's that they should just be more honest about their meathods and about the risks so it and not perpetuate a myth of eternal youth (as they do via cosmetic surgery) and fecundity.

I know loads of people who have delayed having kids into their late 30s. I have mentioned it on here before and people really didnt think their was any signoficant risk of complocations or sim=ly nt being able to concieve.

I think it's just saying these women are role models and when they become pregnant that role doesn't stop - that's all.

Doh!dont subscribe to this celebroty actions influnece all us mortals.weak and untenable idea.this isn't monkey see monkey do

Mylene klass bleats on about motherhood we all do - nah!

so violet in Corrie gets up the duff by gay pal we all race off to find turkey baster

posh spice exists on a lettuce leaf a day we all gallop to the grocers

in rl we all look at finances.right time, career etc.not our schedule around nbext blockbuster

Put it this way. I know that J-lo had to have fertilitly treatment to get pregnant with her twins. I am also fairly sure that she ensured that when they implanted the embryos that they used a technology called PGD to ensure that they got "one of each"! Probably also true for Julia Roberts and her twins! I know that these are treatments which these rich people can afford and I can't in the same way that I can't afford their boob-jobs and tummy tucks.
I think the term "role-model" is something I would associate with naive teenagers, not with intelligent women deciding when to start a family.
And I do think these celebrity women are entitled to their privacy as well. Why should they have to discuss in public whether they used egg donors, sperm donors or IVF? That is their own private business.
FWIW, my boss had her children in her late 30's/early 40s and she thinks that that is the right age to have children, after your career is established. But if any of my younger colleagues appear to be taking what she says as gospel, I do try to point out that it's not that easy for every older woman, that fertility declines somewhat after 35 and declines radically after 40 and that the children I conceived in my 30's took a lot longer than the ones I conceived in my 20's. I think, if anything, women are more influenced by friends, colleagues and peers than they are by celebrities.

I agree, why should they have to tell all about their conception and pregnancy jsut because they're in the public eye?

plus, there are plenty of YOUNG celebs having babies too

Exactly fingerwoman, look at Jamie-Lynn Spears! I'd be far more worried about her as an influence than an adult like Halle Berry!

It's none of our business how they conceived.

I'm quite insulted by that article actually. Are we all such airheads that our decision about when to have children would seriously be influenced by some Hollywood actress.

How patronising of this fretility expert to assume all women are influenced by these people.
How ridiculous

i thikn that the vast majority of women delay getting pregnant for a myriad of reasons

i doubt that they do it becasue halle berry did

i imagine a lot of these hollywood ladies cannot get pregnant easily due to being excessively thin and not having regular periods

very patronising to suggest grown women are so very suggestible

x posted with mrsruffalo there

Of course Camilla makes a very good point

^i imagine a lot of these hollywood ladies cannot get pregnant easily due to being excessively thin and not having regular periods
^

Er, very patronising indeed to assume that, too, although I agree that adults are not so easily influenced. I'm excessively thin through absolutely no fault of my own, have always had regular periods and found getting pregnant rather hard even though I was apparently ovulating like a cannon. Sorry. TMI. Thin people are NOT NECESSARILY unhealthy people.

sorry that you found my post patronising

i did not say all naturally thin people will have fertility problems, nor that they are unhealthy

but overly excercising, ultra thin women might well do, when it is not their natural born body shape

I think this specific criticism is out of order ... but I have heard otherwise intelligent women blithely say they won't have a baby until they're at least 35, after all, plenty of older women have babies now. As though human biology is subject to social trends. It's popular, therefore my body WILL be able to do it. That's not down to celebrities, that's down to the fact that a woman having a baby is far more visible than a woman sadly failing to have a baby.

I suspect they find it easier because they're thinner, not harder 9some of them) and because they eat well and are healthy where as a good percentage of British women in their late 30s and early 40s are too fat easily to get pregnant.

My brother has always said (he's a doctor) fertility plummets at 35. When he was having his two children around 38/39 he had 5 senior female doctor colleagues all trying to conceive of the same age, 3 on IVF and all failing. But that doesn't mean don't try. I hope my 2 20 something daughters do know and most women do when it is easier and when not

BMJ 2005;331(7517):588 (17 September) Dr Bewley

a contentious article using terms such as "defies nature" not universally accepted btw

Depends how thin they are, if their bmi falls below a certain level and their periods stop then they will have trouble conceiving

Women with a BMI < 20 are advised to gain weight and reduce exercise if they are exercising excessively. Being considerably underweight is associated with an increased risk of miscarriage and intrauterine growth retardation.

A huge number of these super skinny stars seem to need fertility treatment

thikn that article raises some interesting points , scottishmummy