Celebs ‘make women over 40 think it’s easy to get pregnant by hiding they had IVF’
CELEBS who have children later in life are fuelling misconceptions about the chances of becoming pregnant later in life.
The likes of Janet Jackson and Halle Berry have all given birth after the age of 40 yet their journey to becoming a mother appeared to be relatively easy.
A study of glossy magazines found interviews with A-list mums often glamourised pregnancy in women over 40 and didn’t address the process of trying for a baby.
And while it is possible to conceive naturally after the age of 4o, magazines often don't make it clear that this is the exception and not the rule.
Some celebs like Mariah Carey and Nicole Kidman have bucked this trend, candidly opening up about their fertility problems.
But the seemingly endless amounts of pregnancy success stories among stars is misleading women in their twenties and thirties into thinking they can put off having a baby far later than is realistic, reports
Researchers at New York University found more than half of celebrity pregnancies and births mentioned in the likes of Cosmopolitan, People Magazine and US Weekly were over the age of 35.
The findings were presented at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) congress in Texas.
ASRM president Dr Richard Paulson said: “A reluctance to show challenges is misinformation and can affect decisions.”
Some studies have shown that a woman’s fertility begins to fall when she hits the age of 30.
But last year a survey of 16 to 24-year-old Brits by the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology found that 80 per cent believed fertility began to decline when a woman hits 35.
The reality is, a woman only has a 33 per cent chance of giving birth after IVF if they are aged under 35.
That number becomes significantly smaller the older a woman gets.
BABY BOOM How does IVF work, how much does it cost and what’s the success rate for the fertility treatment?
Women aged 40 to 42 only have a 14 per cent chance of giving birth after IVF and those aged 43 to 44 have an even slimmer five per cent chance.
Nicole Kidman revealed in 2008 that she suffered miscarriages and an ectopic pregnancy.
In 2011 her second daughter was born with the help of a surrogate.
Mariah Carey has also spoke about her miscarriages and the fertility treatment she underwent to conceive her twins Moroccan and Monroe.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends in its fertility guidelines that IVF should be offered to women under 43 years of age who have been trying to get pregnant through regular unprotected sex for two years and women who have had 12 cycles of artificial insemination.
The success rate can depend on a number of factors, including the age of the woman and the cause of their infertility.
The younger the woman, the more likely it is that IVF will be successful, and factors such as avoiding alcohol, caffeine and smoking can improve your chances too.
Going through the process of IVF can be both physically and emotionally draining for couples, and often counselling is advised to help provide support.
Some women experience side effects like headaches and hot flushes from medication using during the treatment.
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