Cameron Diaz “has third child” aged 53

[Namingbaba]

It worries me that some people just read headlines like this and think all these women have children naturally. At least that’s the impression I got from reading the comments on this story. The surrogacy sometimes isn’t even mentioned.

I think it’d be interesting to see what influence these celebrity stories have on people both in their perception of fertility and also on issues like surrogacy. I do worry it normalises it. There’s never any criticism or mention of the birth mother.

I looked and saw one study which looked at 400 issues of magazines like Cosmopolitan. Over half the stories of celebrities having children were about women over 35. In most stories they didn’t mention things like donor eggs and IVF and just a few surrogacy cases so for most you got the impression it was just another 40 something having a natural normal pregnancy. ("Age is Just a Number": How Celebrity-Driven Magazines Misrepresent Fertility at Advanced Reproductive Ages - PubMed https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31045475/)

If you look at studies done on people’s general knowledge of fertility some might be surprised at the lack of knowledge. There was a study of women who had successful IVF aged 40 and after. “30% expected their fertility to decline gradually until menopause at around 50 years and 31% reported that they expected to get pregnant without difficulty at the age of 40”.
And “Reasons for a mistaken belief in robust fertility included…(among others)…misleading media reports of pregnancies in older celebrity women (28%)”

Age shock: misperceptions of the impact of age on fertility before and after IVF in women who conceived after age 40 - PMC https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3670726/#:~:text=Of%20the%20women%2C%2030%25%20expected,at%20the%20age%20of%2040.

I bet he wasnt the driver to have a child though.

So what is the difference between buying a baby and buying a 5 year old? Why is one illegal and the other not?

Why wouldn't he? Because he is male?

Yes its likely she was the driver, men arent as motivated as women to have children. There are some outliers and it doesnt mean he didnt want a child at all, but statistically its more likely the drive came primarily from her.

'Child trafficking is ok if you are infertile.'

No it's not. It's still child trafficking.

The 5 year old can scream 'dont take me from my mummy '.

Buying babies is reprehensible.

How on earth do you know? Gay men use surrogates all the time.

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painthisbathroom
Yesterday 19:01
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I don't think she was able to conceive naturally and had tried IVF in the past. If surrogacy was your only way to have a child and you had that much money i can see why you would want to carry on.

Most of these celebrities don’t conceive naturally because they leave it too late. Not interested during their child bearing years but they know if they decide they want one after all at post 45 yo they can always buy one.

The oldest known natural conception was at 59, so it’s not impossible.

However, I don’t agree with surrogacy generally.

Could you imagine seeing that blue line appear, age 59??

The horror.

Theres a hell of a lot of difference in fertility between 35 and 53. Most women of 35 can conceive naturally. I conceived naturally twice over that age. Even pregnancy in the early 40s is common naturally. That article has chosen a very low cut off age.

I don't deny that pregnancy over 50 is very unlikely to be natural. But in women under 50 the age of the father has a huge influence on whether they can conceive or not.

Fucking disgusting, so handmaid's tale and gaslights people into believing that pregnancy is easy after 40.

The only time I think that surrogacy should be allowed is if a woman willingly does it for a family member, such as a sister. I would have happy carried a baby for my sister if she couldn't carry one herself.

Victoria Coren-Mitchell had a baby at 51

I can understand an older woman wanting a baby if in her younger years she didn't meet the right partner; or had children from a previous partner and desperate for one with the latest beau. Not everyone can follow the usual path to marriage and motherhood

But according to Wiki, Cameron Diaz has been married to the same guy for 11 years and they already have two children! IMO it's an indulgence to lumber a child with a 53 year-old mother - she may be gorgeous, healthy and wealthy but she's still 53

This. All day. This is the bottom line.

I agree @Westfacing
The child's best interests haven't been prioritised in any way.

Genuinely, they should have got a puppy of they wanted something cute to play with.

I don't agree with this at all. In societies where women have more autonomy, they have less babies. Some men love the narrative that they reluctantly agreed to have a baby but it is just egotistical bollocks, or an excuse not to pull their weight. Also, they also can't really say to a woman (that they want to keep on having sex with) 'I don't want children with you' it less insulting to say 'I don't want children at all'. Nearly all of the men that I have known on my life wanted children.

I can understand an older woman wanting a baby if in her younger years she didn't meet the right partner; or had children from a previous partner and desperate for one with the latest beau. Not everyone can follow the usual path to marriage and motherhood

Or you accept that is how your life has panned out and you are not going to have child naturally.

Im sure her surrogate was paid handsomely, so why would it be bad to take the child away when its something they both agreed on. Im sure the child will have a very nice life.

I didn't know that about Victoria Coren-Mitchell. I'm guessing IVF with frozen or donor eggs.

Also just found out her children are called Barbara and June! There can't be many young Barbaras around these days.

I suspect it is his biological child.

@Notarealblonde a baby is not a commodity to buy. A woman's body should not be a commodity to buy. A child should not be created on purpose to be taken from it's mother at birth.

How many rich women do you see being a surrogate compared to how many rich women use a surrogate?

I definitely think shows like Friends with Phoebe being a surrogate made it more acceptable.