Janet Jackson Is Expecting! The Facts About Pregnancy in Your 40s and 50s

Ever the chameleon, Janet Jackson confirmed today that she is indeed pregnant, as has been speculated, adding yet another dimension to her accomplished life. The actress, singer, and dancer is taking on motherhood for the first time at age 50—and her formal announcement prompts a flurry of questions about advanced-age pregnancy. Here, experts explain the technology making it possible for more women, as well as the challenges they face in their quest to become mothers or add to a family later in life.

The Biological Basics
As you may or may not remember from biology class, all of a woman’s eggs are present at birth, and, unlike sperm, women don’t produce more as they grow older. The eggs age over time, causing the quality and quantity to change as women get older. (Of course, aging men’s sperm can have reduced fertilizing potential and other chromosomal challenges.) Essentially, after age 45, the neat little graph that charts women’s ability to get pregnant starts to dip quite rapidly. Less than 1 percent of women over 50 get pregnant naturally, according to Dr. Richard J. Paulson, chair of reproductive medicine at USC’s Keck School of Medicine; he notes there are always exceptions to every data set, but it’s rare. Many women, he notes, can get pregnant using their own eggs with in vitro fertilization until about age 45. “Beyond 45,” he says, “there have been only about two case reports.”

How It Happens
Essentially, women in their 40s and 50s can get pregnant, Paulson says—most often using donor eggs (or their own eggs that were frozen when they were younger), plus a partner’s sperm (or a donor’s). Fertility doctors put both together in the lab and transfer the embryo to the woman’s uterus in 3 to 5 days. “This is not new technology,” says Paulson. Pregnancies in women over 50 using in vitro were first reported in 1992 and Paulson says there are about 300 per year, nationwide, using donor eggs. “Pregnancy is so dependent on the egg,” he says. ”And by age 50, the eggs left in the ovary just aren’t capable of becoming pregnant.”

Precautions
Santa Monica–based obstetrician and fertility specialist Dr. Tristan Emily Bickman says that no special precautions are necessary for pregnant older women beyond the normal guidelines. Most women who get pregnant naturally don’t know it for the first month or two, and a daily regimen of prenatal vitamins is the best initial measure. Bickman advises all pregnant women, regardless of age, to avoid alcohol and foods prone to harboring bacteria (raw fish, raw sprouts, lunch meat, undercooked meat), limit mercury (fish and seafood), and avoid anything unpasteurized, all of which can cause illness and miscarriages. Exercise is encouraged for women without pregnancy complications, and Bickman says, “I always tell patients no contact sports, don’t fall or get hit, don’t try something new, and keep your heart rate less than 140 [beats per minute].”

Risks
“There’s a higher chance for chromosomal abnormalities in eggs above 35, but eggs can now be screened for them,” says Bickman. Donor eggs are generally from younger women, so there’s less of a risk with them. “The hard part about being pregnant later isn’t the pregnancy,” says Bickman. “It’s the conception. It’s harder to become pregnant, but the actual pregnancy is usually the same.” However, there’s a higher risk of diabetes, hypertension, preterm labor, and delayed growth rate in babies when women are older—whether or not they’ve used in vitro.

The Bottom Line
Women in their 40s and 50s are becoming pregnant more often, provided they have the means (IVF is still not covered in most medical plans); the mental stamina and fortitude to soldier through rounds of IVF, blood tests, and hormones; and the access to doctors who can provide such services. “For older women,” Paulson concludes, “it’s generally all in the egg.”

 

The post Janet Jackson Is Expecting! The Facts About Pregnancy in Your 40s and 50s appeared first on Vogue.