Having a baby beyond your late 30s is becoming more common as fertility treatments are now more widely available. However, conceiving a baby naturally in your 50s and beyond is incredibly impressive.
While these women might not be the oldest mothers ever, the women on this list reportedly had a natural pregnancy at an age when most women are grandmothers. In fact, several of these women were already grandmothers when they got pregnant again!
10. Brigitte Nielson
Age at Time of Baby’s Birth: 54 years old in 2018
Date of Baby’s Birth: June 22, 2018
Country of Origin: Los Angeles, California, USA (Nielson is originally from Denmark)
Name and Age of Partner: Mattia Dessì, 39 years old in 2018
photo source: Instagram via Brigitte Nielson
If the name Brigitte Nielson looks familiar, it’s because Nielson is an actress, model, singer, and reality TV personality who rose to fame in the 1980s. Neilson, who is currently married to a much younger man, Mattia Dessì, had a child with him in 2018 at the age of 54. This is Nielson’s fifth child, but first daughter.
Nielson, who was known for her looks, still looks amazing in her 50s and has remained very healthy over the years. This helped her to give birth to a healthy baby girl.
Did You Know?
Brigette Nielson has been married five times and some of her ex-husbands are also famous, including actor Sylvester Stallone and former pro football player Mark Gastineau.
9. Gianna Nannini
Age at Time of Baby’s Birth: 54 years old in 2010
Date of Baby’s Birth: November 26, 2010
Country of Origin: Milan, Italy
Name and Age of Partner: Unnamed partner, age unspecified
photo source: Alchetron
Gianna Nannini is one of the only women on this list who is known for more than just being an older mother. Nannini is a famous Italian singer, who just happened to get pregnant when she was 54 years old. According to Nannini, her baby was conceived naturally, but she was taking hormone pills at the time. However, Nannini didn’t receive any actual fertility treatments.
Did You Know?
In 2017, Gianna Nannini revealed that she moved to London with her daughter, Penelope, and her partner Carla so that they could legally get married. This was the only way to make sure that Carla could take care of Penelope if something happened to Nannini.
8. Aracelia Garcia
Age at Time of Baby’s Birth: 54 years in 2000
Date of Baby’s Birth: January 2000
Country of Origin: Sunnyside, Washington, USA
Name and Age of Partner: Unnamed husband, age unspecified
photo source: Sunnyside Sun
While all of the women on this list were featured in the news for having babies well past their prime, Aracelia Garcia stands out for birthing triplets! Garcia was 54 years old when the triplets were born. She was also already a mother of eight children and had 13 grandchildren, with two more on the way after the triplets were born.
According to Garcia, she found out she was pregnant after she went to the doctors after feeling tired all the time. The doctor who delivered Garcia’s triplets, Dr. Diana Smigaj, said that she had never heard of a 54-year old woman giving birth to triplets.
Did You Know?
Following her media exposure, Aracelia Garcia started taking English classes so that she could keep up with her young triplets.
7. Kathleen Campbell
Age at Time of Baby’s Birth: 55 years, 4 months, 19 days in 1987
Date of Baby’s Birth: September 9, 1987
Country of Origin: Kimberley, Nottinghamshire, England
Name and Age of Partner: Sydney Campbell, 65 years old in 1987
photo source: Wikimedia Commons via Tim Heaton (Town of Kimberley pictured)
For many years until Dawn Brooke revealed her story in 2007, Kathleen Campbell was known for being the oldest British mother. Campbell was 55 years old when she gave birth to a boy in 1987.
While many of the women on this list were first time mothers, Campbell already had six children, ranging in age from 16 to 22. Campbell was not only a mother for the seventh time, she was also already a grandmother!
Did You Know?
Kathleen Campbell’s doctors advised her not to have another baby because she weighed 240 lbs and had high blood pressure. However, instead of gaining more weight while she was pregnant, Campbell lost 70 lbs and became much healthier.
6. Raisa Akhmadieva
Age at Time of Baby’s Birth: 56 years old in 2008
Date of Baby’s Birth: January 10, 2008
Country of Origin: Ulyanovsk, Russia
Name and Age of Partner: Rashid Akhmadieva, age unspecified
photo source: Wikimedia Commons (City of Ulyanovsk pictured)
In early 2008, Raisa Akhmadieva, at the age of 56, became one of the oldest women in Russia to give birth to a baby that was conceived naturally. This was Akhmadieva’s first child.
Akhmadieva gave birth to a healthy baby boy with a weight of 5 lbs 12 oz and a height of 19.3 inches. Like a few of the other cases on this list, the nature of the baby’s conception was not confirmed, but reported by the parents.
Did You Know?
Raisa Akhmadieva’s husband, Rashid, already had three adult children from a previous marriage, but they had wanted to have a child of their own since they got married.
5. Vera
Age at Time of Baby’s Birth: 57 years old in 2008
Date of Baby’s Birth: June 13, 2008
Country of Origin: Kiev, Ukraine
Name and Age of Partner: Unnamed husband, 57 years old in 2008
photo source: segodnya.ua (Vera’s doctor, Tatyana Pehnho pictured)
A woman simply called Vera gave birth in Ukraine in 2008 at the age of 57. Vera’s story was reported by the head physician, Tatyana Pehnho, who personally attended to Vera’s birth. Dr. Pehnho and her teamed performed a Cesarean on Vera, which took about 40 minutes.
According to Dr. Pehnho, Vera’s healthy lifestyle allowed her to conceive a baby naturally. Ukraine’s Ministry of Health said that Vera is the oldest woman ever to give birth in Ukraine.
Did You Know?
Vera and her husband did have other children, a son who died when he was 20 years old, and twin boys who only survived for 10 days.
4. Natalya Alekseevna
Age at Time of Baby’s Birth: 57 years old in 1996
Date of Baby’s Birth: March 14, 1996
Country of Origin: Russia
Name and Age of Partner: Unnamed husband, age unspecified
photo source: Needpix (Natalya Alekseevna not actually pictured)
Natalya Alekseevna was in the news for being the oldest Russian mother. Back in 1996, Alexseevna gave birth to a daughter when she was 57 years old! While Alexseevna’s baby was conceived naturally, she did receive Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) to help increase her chances of having a baby.
Although Alexseevna’s doctors warned her that HRT at her age had many side effects, including an increased risk of cancer, she was determined to give her second husband a child because he didn’t have any – Alexseevna had two adult children from a previous marriage.
Did You Know?
One of the biggest things driving Natalya Alexseevna to have another child was the fact that her husband at the time didn’t have any children. Unfortunately, not long after Alexseevna’s daughter was born, her partner revealed that he had a secret wife and was expecting another child.
3. Dawn Brooke
Age at Time of Baby’s Birth: 59 years old in 1997
Date of Baby’s Birth: August 20, 1997
Country of Origin: Guernsey, Channel Islands, Great Britain
Name and Age of Partner: Raymond Brooke, 64 years old in 1997
photo source: conceivedespiteage.blogspot.com
While Xinju Tian and Maria Rosaria Veneruso are significantly older, Dawn Brooke is widely recognized as the oldest confirmed women to conceive naturally. Brooke became pregnant when she was 58 and then gave birth after she had turned 59. For over a decade, Brooke’s story was not publicly known, but she finally told her story in 2007.
Initially, Brooke thought that she might have cancer when she started experiencing aches and pains while on vacation. Brooke was so worried that she rushed home to Britain and her tests showed that she was 16 weeks pregnant. In addition to her younger son, Brooke also has two adult children from her first marriage.
Did You Know?
According to Dawn Brooke, she kept the fact that she was one of the world’s oldest mothers secret for so long because people always assumed she was much younger than she actually was and didn’t think it was weird that she had a young son.
2. Maria Rosaria Veneruso
Age at Time of Baby’s Birth: 61 years old in 2016
Date of Baby’s Birth: September 19, 2016
Country of Origin: Campania, Italy
Name and Age of Partner: Enzo Veneruso, age unspecified
photo source: The Sun UK
Like Xiju Tian, there is some skepticism over whether or not Maria Rosaria Veneruso really did have a natural pregnancy. Despite what some doctors said, Veneruso and her husband Enzo are adamant that they did not undergo any fertility treatments. Veneruso gave birth to a 7 lbs 7 oz baby boy named Elia Francesco in Campania, Italy.
Did You Know?
Maria Rosaria Veneruso’s doctor, Dr. Stefano Palmieri, backs up her claim that she conceived her baby naturally. Palmieri said that Veneruso’s good health and physical stamina helped her have a natural and peaceful pregnancy.
1. Xinju Tian
Age at Time of Baby’s Birth: 67 years old in 2019
Date of Baby’s Birth: October 25, 2019
Country of Origin: Zaozhuang, China
Name and Age of Partner: Weiping Huang, 68 years old in 2019
photo source: Dailymail UK
In late October 2019, Xinju Tian made international news when it was reported that she had given to a healthy baby girl at the age of 67 years old. Surprisingly, Tian and her partner Weiping Huang, who was 68 at the time, said that they conceived naturally. This means that at 67 years of age, Xinju Tian is the oldest woman with a natural pregnancy ever in the world.
Due to her advanced age, Tian delivered her baby via Cesarean section. Tian already has two children, who were born before China implemented its one-child policy to curb its population in 1977. There have been no reports on whether or not Tian and Huang have face consequences for having more than two kids.
Did You Know?
Xinju Tian and Weiping Huang decided to name their Tianci, which means “gift from heaven.”
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FAQs
What is the oldest women to conceive naturally? ›
The oldest verified mother to conceive naturally (listed currently as of 26 January 2017 in the Guinness Records) is Dawn Brooke (Guernsey); she conceived a son at the age of 59 years in 1997.
What is the oldest woman to give birth with her own eggs? ›Belinda Slaughter, who was 46 at the time of treatment, conceived after doctors transferred four embryos created using her eggs and her husband's sperm. One implanted successfully and Slaughter gave birth to a boy last September.
Can you conceive naturally at 50? ›“It's exceptionally rare for patients to get pregnant naturally at 50 or over 45. They make history,” said Dr. David Keefe, an obstetrician-gynecologist and fertility researcher at New York University. In part that's because around age 50, many women are entering menopause, after which egg harvesting isn't possible.
What is the max age to have a baby? ›Technically, women can get pregnant and bear children from puberty when they start getting their menstrual period to menopause when they stop getting it. The average woman's reproductive years are between ages 12 and 51. Your fertility naturally declines as you get older, which could make it harder for you to conceive.
Can you get pregnant at 70 years old? ›That said, the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) shares that any woman of any age can get pregnant — with medical help — provided that she has a “normal uterus” even if she no longer has ovaries or ovarian function.
Can I use my own eggs at 46? ›While IVF and PGS technology can dramatically increase a woman's chances of getting pregnant later in life, there will come a time when a woman's eggs are simply no longer viable. Although of course there are exceptions, using own eggs for IVF by women over the age of 45 is unlikely to be successful.
At what age does a woman lose all her eggs? ›Menopause. Natural cessation of ovarian function and menstruation. It can occur between the ages of 42 and 56 but usually occurs around the age of 51, when the ovaries stop producing eggs and estrogen levels decline.
Can 2 women's eggs make a baby? ›You can't make a baby with two moms by simply fusing two eggs or adding one egg's DNA to another's. Even though the resulting embryo would have the usual 46 chromosomes, this wouldn't work.
How many eggs in a woman's lifetime? ›Because many eggs start to develop but die off before being ovulated, a woman goes through roughly 300,000-400,000 eggs in their reproductive years, but only ovulates 300-400 eggs. The average woman runs out of eggs and starts menopause around the egg of 52.
At what age do men stop producing sperm? ›Although men never stop producing sperm throughout their lives, sperm production does begin decreasing after age 35. Motility, volume and genetic quality of sperm of older men are less likely to achieve a successful pregnancy even in younger women.
Can a 53 woman get pregnant? ›
While stories about women giving birth in their 50s, 60s, and even 70s make for good headlines, these pregnancies are usually accomplished with donor eggs and in vitro fertilization (IVF). There is no set oldest age when you can get pregnant naturally, but fertility starts to decline as you age.
What are the chances of getting pregnant at 47 naturally? ›45 and beyond: Your likelihood of becoming pregnant at this age is no more than 3 or 4%. While it's not impossible to conceive, assisted reproductive technologies are almost always required to enhance your success rate.
Can you have a baby after 60? ›According to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), “Pregnancy may be possible in virtually any woman with a normal uterus, regardless of age and even in the absence of ovaries and ovarian function.”
What is the best age for a man to have his first child? ›The age where a man is most fertile is between 22 and 25 years. It is suggested to have children before the age of 35. After this age, the male fertility begins to worsen.
Does having kids age you? ›The researchers found that women who had live births had telomeres that were an average of 4.2 percent shorter than their counterparts with no children. This equates to around 11 years of accelerated cellular aging, said Anna Pollack, an epidemiologist at George Mason University and the lead researcher of the study.
Can a 65 year old man impregnate a woman? ›In this Article. There's no maximum age that stops a man from being able to have a baby. You can become a father long into your older years, but there are risks.
Which woman has first child at 72? ›According to Sky News, the baby was conceived after Daljinder Kaur, 72, and Arman Singh, 79, underwent two years of fertility treatment at a clinic in Haryana, India. They have been married for 46 years. The baby boy, named Armaan, was born about a month ago, is healthy and thriving.
Can a woman in menopause carry a baby? ›Once you've reached menopause, your LH and FSH levels remain high and your estrogen and progesterone levels remain low. You no longer ovulate and you cannot conceive a child.
Who is the oldest IVF mother with own eggs? ›“She's definitely the love of our lives!” The infant might have made history in the world of in-vitro fertilization, which kicked off in 1978 with baby Louise Brown. “To the best of my knowledge, the oldest woman who has gotten pregnant from IVF with her own egg is 45,” said Dr.
Do celebrities use donor eggs? ›Tens of thousands of families have babies each year through egg donation, and celebrities are no different. While some celebrities choose to speak openly about their decision to use donor egg IVF, others choose not to.
Has anyone had successful IVF at 43? ›
Although IVF success rates for women aged 38 to 43 with their own eggs are still good – with a 20 to 25 percent chance of a pregnancy – this is half that expected of a woman under 35.
What age are men most fertile? ›Age and Male Fertility
Peak male fertility is around 25-29 years old. Sperm quality begins to decline at 30. At 45, men begin to experience a significant decrease in semen volume. Older men can also take longer to conceive a child.
Women are born with all the oocytes they're ever going to have. Every passing year they lose eggs until they “run out”. When all of their eggs are gone they've reached menopause. During their reproductive years their eggs grow in little “bubbles” on the surface of the ovary called follicles.
How many eggs are left at menopause? ›By the time of girls' first menstrual period, they have an average of about 400,000 eggs. By the time of menopause, a woman may have fewer than 10,000 eggs. A small percentage of these eggs are lost through normal ovulation (the monthly cycle). Most eggs die off through a process called atresia.
What is a 3 parent baby? ›This means the baby has three genetic parents: the father who supplied the sperm, the mother who supplied both womb and the egg nucleus, and an anonymous donor who supplied healthy mitochondria. Of these, the mitochondrial DNA is by far the smallest contribution.
Can one baby have two fathers DNA? ›Although this is quite rare it can happen and it's called superfetation. Two babies are conceived from separate acts in two different cycles. These babies can be from the same father or two different men. When heteropaternal superfecundation occurs, the babies are from different fathers.
Can you fertilize a human egg without sperm? ›Eggs not fertilized by sperm were simply presumed to disintegrate. But eggs can activate on their own without sperm, a process known as 'parthenogenesis', from the Greek for 'virgin'.
How many eggs do you lose on your period? ›A woman is born with all her eggs. Once she starts her periods, 1 egg develops and is released during each menstrual cycle. Pregnancy happens if a man's sperm meet and fertilise the egg. Sperm can survive in the fallopian tubes for up to 7 days after sex.
How many eggs does a woman have left at age 40? ›This means that when only 25,000 eggs are left in the ovaries (around age 37, according to 2014 data from ACOG), you'll have about 15 years until you reach menopause, on average. At menopause, you'll have fewer than 100 eggs left. Find out what you should know about having a baby at 40.
How many eggs are left at age 51? ›At birth, most girls have about 2 million eggs, at adolescence that number has gone down to about 400, 000, at age 37 there remain about 25,000. By age 51 when women have their menopause they have about 1000 immature eggs but these are not fertile.
How do you know if a man is fertile? ›
Tests for Infertility in Men
Because most causes of male infertility are related to sperm, the first test a urological health care provider will perform is a sperm count and analysis. Too low of a sperm count, misshapen sperm, and “lazy” or less-active-than-normal sperm can all lead to fertility issues.
Spermarche—also known as semenarche—is the beginning of development of sperm in boys' testicles at puberty. It is the counterpart of menarche in girls. Depending on their upbringing, cultural differences, and prior sexual knowledge, boys may have different reactions to spermarche, ranging from fear to excitement.
How many babies can a man have in her lifetime? ›Since men require less time and fewer resources to have kids, the most "prolific" fathers today can have up to about 200 children. The number of children men can have depends on the health of their sperm and other factors like how many women they can reproduce with.
What actress had a baby at 55? ›Brazilian actress Cláudia Raia couldn't believe it when doctors delivered the news — she was pregnant at age 55. “When the doctor asked me for a beta, the pregnancy blood test, I said, 'Baby, you're really crazy.
What actress had a baby at 50? ›Naomi Campbell announced in May that she had welcomed her first baby at 50 years old.
How rare is it to get pregnant at 50? ›About 5 in 100 women having unprotected sexual intercourse at age 50 will become pregnant. Fertility typically drops with age, especially after 35, but unless you are in full menopause, it's reasonable to assume that you can still get pregnant (some can even get pregant when already pregnant).
Is 45 too old to conceive naturally? ›Pregnancy after age 45 years is infrequent and the mother and baby should be considered as a high risk. There is a greater incidence of spontaneous abortion, gestational trophoblastic disease and chromosomal abnormalities in the fetus.
How rare is it to get pregnant at 46? ›45 and Older
Success rates are between 0% to 1%, and most clinics recommend using eggs donated by a younger woman for those who want to conceive between ages 46 and 50. For a female in their mid-40s who wants to have a biological pregnancy, using a donor egg is the best bet.
By age 35, there's about a 15 percent chance of getting pregnant naturally per menstrual cycle, and by age 40, it drops to around 5 percent or less per cycle (around 1 in 10 women per cycle). At 45, there's only a slim chance of conceiving naturally, without fertility treatments or help.
What is the turkey baster method pregnancy? ›Intracervical Insemination (ICI)
ICI, also known as “The Turkey Baster Method” is the most commonly used method of home insemination. It involves using a needleless syringe to inject sperm near the cervix.
Can a 58 year old woman get pregnant naturally? ›
Getting Pregnant After 50
If you are trying to get pregnant after age 50, you will probably need some fertility help. While it's not impossible to become pregnant naturally at 50, it is very rare. Women are born with all of the eggs they will ever have.
The optimal age range is 28 to 32 years. Getting married around the age of 30 boosts your chances of having a happy life, and it's also the time when you're least likely to divorce.
What age does the average man have a baby? ›The study, published 30 August in Human Reproduction , used a federal repository of nearly 170 million birth records to find that the average dad is now 30.9 years old at their child's birth—and that 9% of newborns' fathers are at least 40 years old.
What is the most common age for a woman to have her first child? ›Median age for new moms rises to 30 in U.S.
What's the hardest age of having a baby? ›But many first-time parents find that after the first month of parenthood, it can actually get more difficult. This surprising truth is one reason many experts refer to a baby's first three months of life as the “fourth trimester.” If months two, three, and beyond are tougher than you expected, you're not alone.
Does having a baby change your face? ›Some women can develop dark patches on their face and hormonal changes can make your skin a little darker. You may also develop stretch marks on your body, particularly around your stomach where your skin is stretching to accommodate your growing baby.
What is the hardest age to have a child? ›In fact, age 8 is so tough that the majority of the 2,000 parents who responded to the 2020 survey agreed that it was the hardest year, while age 6 was better than expected and age 7 produced the most intense tantrums.
Can a 46 year old woman get pregnant naturally? ›Pregnancy after age 45 years is infrequent and the mother and baby should be considered as a high risk. There is a greater incidence of spontaneous abortion, gestational trophoblastic disease and chromosomal abnormalities in the fetus.
What are the odds of getting pregnant at 44 naturally? ›However, women have a much lower chance of conceiving naturally after 40 than earlier in their reproductive years. Fertility specialists quote approximately a 5% chance per menstrual cycle of getting pregnant naturally after age 40 vs.
What are the chances of getting pregnant at 48 years old? ›45 and Older
Success rates are between 0% to 1%, and most clinics recommend using eggs donated by a younger woman for those who want to conceive between ages 46 and 50.
How many eggs does a 46 year old woman have? ›
As you approach menopause (which, for most women, happens in their early 50s), your egg supply dwindles. At the age of 37, the average woman has around 25,000 eggs left, and by the time she reaches 51, this will have fallen to 1,000.
Can a woman get pregnant at age 60? ›According to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), “Pregnancy may be possible in virtually any woman with a normal uterus, regardless of age and even in the absence of ovaries and ovarian function.”
Do you still ovulate at 45? ›By age 35, there's about a 15 percent chance of getting pregnant naturally per menstrual cycle, and by age 40, it drops to around 5 percent or less per cycle (around 1 in 10 women per cycle). At 45, there's only a slim chance of conceiving naturally, without fertility treatments or help.
How common is a menopause baby? ›The pregnancy rate for perimenopausal women is estimated to be 10-20 percent in women ages 40-44 and 12 percent in women ages 45-49. Unintentional pregnancy is rare in women over age 50, but you should still exercise caution.
How hard is it to get pregnant naturally at 45? ›By age 40, a woman's chance drops to less than 5 percent per cycle, according to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. After the age of 45, getting pregnant naturally (or without the help of fertility treatments) is unlikely for most women.
How hard is it to get pregnant at 42 naturally? ›So on average, when we look at large groups of women, of women who want to conceive at age 40, about half will get pregnant naturally. But that decreases quickly to perhaps 20% to 25% by age 42 to 43. And by age 45, it's quite rare to become pregnant naturally.
Is IVF worth it at 42? ›After 42, however, pregnancies are rare so in general we do not recommend them. At that point you should go to donor eggs. If you don't want to keep trying with your own eggs, or you've reached the end based on answers to the above two questions, then your best bet is donor eggs.
Can I get pregnant at 42 naturally? ›"About 50% of women who try to conceive naturally in their early to mid 40s will achieve a pregnancy.
Is a 48 year old woman fertile? ›Women do not remain fertile until menopause. The average age for menopause is 51, but most women become unable to have a successful pregnancy sometime in their mid-40s. These percentages are true for natural conception as well as conception using fertility treatment, including in vitro fertilization (IVF).
What actress is pregnant at 48? ›Hilary Swank reveals she is pregnant with twins at 48: 'It's a total miracle'
Can you get pregnant during menopause with no period? ›
Once you've reached menopause, your LH and FSH levels remain high and your estrogen and progesterone levels remain low. You no longer ovulate and you cannot conceive a child.