Fertility Diet Makes a Difference When Conceiving in Your Forties

CONCEIVING IN YOUR MID-FORTIES? - ABSOLUTELY
I heard that Celine Dion finally did succeed in becoming pregnant in her early 40's and now has twin boys. Hooray! She did not give up. Conceiving in your 40's can be done, especially when we take care of our bodies, minds and spirits.

How about conceiving naturally when you're 45 or older? Possible? Yes, it is. Today I'd like to share with you the inspiring story of a woman who defeated the odds to naturally conceive at 45 and give birth -- an all-natural water birth at home, no less -- at the age of 46. Her amazing story just re-enforces my belief in the power we all have to make a difference in our own well-being and health.

Maha al Musa is a Lebanese mother residing in Byron Bay, Australia. She had PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) and was told at age 32 that she would never be able to conceive naturally. She gave up smoking, drinking and worked to improve her health to give birth to her first son, who is today 13. She felt a vacation--being completely relaxed--contributed to the conception, in her late 30's, of her second son, who is today 10.

But conceiving her third child naturally at 45 seems especially amazing. Close to age 41 Maha al Musa began a low GI (Glycemic Index) diet; that is, a diet of foods that do not adversely affect blood sugar levels. We know that spikes in our blood sugar are NOT good for fertility and conception (or our health for that matter). She said she was very strict. "In the first year I ate no bread, pasta or rice and only green apples for fruits. [I ate] mainly protein and veggies, nuts and seeds, low-fat dairy...."

Along with her cleaner diet, she also took herbs and had acupuncture. She also had her partner eliminate wheat and sugar and reduce dairy, plus also take Chinese herbs, vitamins and minerals. Maha al Musa also adds, "I think this helped greatly, along with regular sex." For her daughter, she was with a new partner and was in love. "I also believe the love vibration was very strong," she says. I also believe that feeling the love for your partner aids conception.

Almost five years later, at 45, she conceived her daughter, who is today 21 months old. She has this to say: "I always, always sprout on about a healthy diet being for me the number one BEST thing a woman (and man) can do for her (and his) fertility. I am a very strong advocate of healthy diet with strong will power! For the guys, too. Plus herbs, acupuncture and clarity of mind and spirit."

She also counts herself as an ex-PCOS woman, verified by her having a regular cycle, feeling great, and an ultrasound that showed it gone after the birth of her second son.

Maha al Musa also felt the change in her diet made her feel "lighter in mind, body and spirit." She felt very inspired, healthy and "alive" with life. Today she is a doula and  founder of Belly Dance For Birth. Check it out! To learn more about her story, read these:

http://flowerpowermom.com/wordpress/?p=1098
http://hakimamidwifery.blogspot.com/2010/03/interview-maha-al-musa-creator-of-belly.html

I want to thank Maha al Musa for sharing her beautiful story with us. I also want to thank Angel La Liberte, also a mom of two, having conceived naturally at 42 and 44!! as she runs a wonderful, inspiring blog for women who conceive naturally in their 40's. Please check it out!  http://www.flowerpowermom.com

Our story was recently featured in Angel's blog here: http://flowerpowermom.com/wordpress/?p=1937

Celebrity Infertility

Because we were in Los Angeles recently, the apparent home of this nation's entertainment industry, I thought I would share a little about celebrity infertility. I am personally grateful to celebrities such as Celine Dion who have come out publicly with their very personal struggles on trying to conceive. As I mentioned in a previous blog, because of their voice, the rest of us can better understand how incredibly grueling and sensitive it is to go through such an ordeal.

Here are a few other celebrities who have been open about their difficulties trying to conceive and their use of high-tech treatment options. We celebrate them for speaking up!!

• Brooke Shields opened up about the difficulties trying to conceive her first daughter, Rowan, after many IVF treatments.
• Marcia Cross of Desperate Housewives has spoken out about the medical help she got to conceive her twins and she has also spoken out about the realities and challenges of getting pregnant when you're older (40's).
• Angela Bassett and husband Courtney B. Vance struggled for many, many years (seven!!) trying to conceive and finally delivered biological twins via surrogacy in 2006. (so never give up!)
•  Dixie Chick sisters Martie Maguire and Emily Robison both used IVF to conceive their two sets of fraternal twins, as well as Emily’s son. They have also been open about their use of IVF.

We celebrate them and all other celebrities who open up about their fertility issues, helping others to understand how very difficult this journey is and also how relatively common it is too! One in eight suffer in the U.S. alone!

Now, if only more celebrities who use donor eggs would open up about that, a veil of secrecy (as it used to exist for adoption) would be lifted and we can go on to more fully accept that families are made in all kinds of ways - and that it's OK. Also, they wouldn't be misleading younger generations into believing they can wait to have their own, biological children at a much older age.

Thank you to all the celebrities who have chosen to speak up about the difficulties of conceiving. Here are more full lists of them.
http://www.nobabyonboard.com/moviestv.html

http://celebritybabies.people.com/2007/02/11/celebrities_tha/

Fertility and Conceiving in Your Forties - Absolutely!

Celine Dion has come out with her story on trying to conceive child number two at 41. She's had four IVF's and is gearing up for a fifth. Some wonder whether that's too much, whether she should just stop, considering the statistics about women being able to conceive (and furthermore give birth to a healthy baby) in their forties. The odds are against her!

OK, first, I want to congratulate Celine on sharing her very private story publicly because by doing so she's helping those that don't have fertility issues better understand how incredibly grueling and sensitive it is to go through such an ordeal. I often refer to Dr. Alice Domar's findings in a Harvard study: Women who want children and are told they can't have them react with the same level of stress and depression as those who are told they have cancer or AIDS. Yes, it's that devastating.

Second, here's what I think about women attempting to conceive in their forties: go for it! Yes, the statistics and odds are against you, but I believe we are not statistics. We are people, individuals, and we do have the power to make a difference in our own health - reproductive and otherwise. We can use mind-body techniques to reduce stress and create calm, we can use visualizations to empower us, and we can eat the right foods to optimize our health. We can do acupuncture, meditate, take herbs and supplements and do yoga. And we can do IVF too if we choose. There is a lot we can do to make a difference for ourselves and set us apart from the average statistic. As a group we even have the power to change the statistics to something more positive over time!

But know up front that trying to conceive in your 40's might not be easy. If it's not, you have to decide for yourself how much you can take, and when enough is truly enough. Unfortunately, there is no formula that says for example if you eat perfectly and have acupuncture, you will get pregnant within 3 IVFs. (I know of a woman who finally got pregnant with her 9th IVF, another with her 11th. They reached their dreams, but I'm sure it cost them a lot. How far do you feel you can go? I believe that decision is up to you and you alone.)

When I was given a 2% chance of conceiving, I made a conscious decision not to listen to that number. It was unacceptable to me that I don't get to have a child, so I set out to do everything in my power to fight the odds. I researched and went on a fertility diet, practiced yoga, meditated, did visualizations and took supplements. I simply flat-out believed I would have a child at some point, and four months later I conceived the old fashion way, at 40. I believed in myself and in my body to make a difference.

Looking back, I did know some of my limits ahead of time. I knew that I would not do more than 2 IVFs. (We couldn't afford them, anyway.) But outside of that I wanted to be able to say I did everything I could, I tried it all. That way, when the time came, I could move forward without regret. Sometimes we don't know our limits, until they're tested. In any case, I feel only you can decide when you've reached them.

So if Celine Dion wants to do yet another IVF (and her husband agrees to it), that's her choice. She's aware of the battle she's facing and she's choosing to fight it. It's a risk, but it's hers to take.


I also wanted to add this reminder: Not all women in their forties have trouble conceiving. I can think of two friends who both got pregnant in their early forties within a few months of trying, and without issue. I know of many more. My grandmother had her 12th child at 45. (In the case of my friends, no one ever told them it might be difficult to conceive. Which reminds me of something I read in one of Dr. Christine Northrup's wonderful books. She said something to the effect of: women in certain villages were getting pregnant into their early 50's. Apparently, she said, no one had told them their eggs were too old. If I remember correctly, she was making a point that if we believe something, such as "our eggs are too old," our minds help to make it true for us, which doesn't help our fertility. The mind is very powerful!) 

The other thing I want to mention is to be wary of statistics. Who are the people that make up the statistic? How are they determined? Be careful when interpreting them, too. One statistic says that a woman who is 40 has a dramatically increased chance of having a genetically abnormal pregnancy, 1 in 38, or almost 3%. Well that means she has a 97% chance of having a healthy, normal pregnancy!! So keep the positive perspective in mind.

Here are a couple of good, inspiring links to check out if you're trying to conceive in your 40's: (there are many!)

Quote from an article by Susun S. Week (famed herbalist and author)

"But more and more women are waiting until their late thirties, early forties, even late forties, to have children. Is this too late? Are these destined to have high-risk pregnancies? Will these children have more birth defects?

The answer to these questions - and others like them - is "no!" for wise women who enlist the help of green allies to increase fertility, ensure conception, prevent birth defects, and promote a healthy pregnancy and an easy delivery."

Infertility in Your 40's Blog - Sandy Robertson's wonderful, inspiring blog


Photo by http://ca.askmen.com/galleries/celine-dion/picture-6.html