If You’re a New Mom, We Bet You’re Probably at Least 30 Years Old

by Shahrzad WarkentinFebruary 25, 2019

While fertility rate in the United States is in an overall decline, an increase in moms-to-be is happening in a surprising demographic, as more women aged 30 to 34 are having babies.

According to a recent study by the National Bureau of Economic Research, pregnancies among women ages 30 to 34 are on the rise. This signals a shift for the United States as in past decades, women ages 25 to 29 have typically had the highest birth rates, followed by those 20 to 24. So why are younger women forgoing becoming parents?

photo: Rawpixel

There is no single reason to explain why younger women are bypassing having kids until later in life, but the researchers have theories that explain the decline. Lack of federally-mandated paid leave, skyrocketing student debt and rising housing costs definitely factor in as to why Millennials might be waiting to have kids.

Add to that the influence of technology—or what Kasey Buckles, economist at the University of Notre Dame, refers to as “Netflix and no chill”—and the decline in births among younger women starts to make a lot more sense.

—Shahrzad Warkentin

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“Making Babies” Movie Reminds Us How Common Infertility Is & It’s Nothing to Be Ashamed Of

by Keiko ZollFebruary 21, 2019

With movies like Baby Mama, Knocked Up and What to Expect When You’re Expecting, Hollywood has always had some pretty rosy depictions about what it’s like trying to get pregnant. But for one in eight couples—or about 12 percent of married women in America—getting pregnant isn’t so simple…or glamorous. A new indie film, Making Babies, sheds both a comedic and poignant light on what it’s like trying to get pregnant when you can’t.

Written and directed by Josh Huber, Making Babies stars Eliza Coupe and Steve Howey as a young married couple trying to start their family. When things don’t work out, they head to a fertility specialist played by Ed Begly, Jr. The trailer captures so many of the painful—and painfully absurd—moments that come with dealing with infertility.

(FYI: if you’re a parent after infertility, you’re going to need a tissue handy. Making Babies cuts so close to home if you’ve been through it.)

As someone who battled infertility for five years, there’s so much in this trailer I can relate to personally—and honestly, any hopeful mom-to-be will find something that speaks to her, too, in this film. From the late Glenne Headly’s line about, “Maybe you’re just not meant to have a baby right now” to showing the simultaneous joy and jealousy of attending a baby shower for someone else when you can’t conceive, Making Babies looks promising as a compassionate portrayal of what it’s like to experience infertility.

With so many women and couples experiencing infertility, films like Making Babies help erase the stigma associated with it. It also provides two very important reminders to anyone having trouble trying to get pregnant: first, that infertility is nothing to be ashamed of and more importantly—you’re not alone.

Making Babies heads to theaters nationwide on Mar. 29.

—Keiko Zoll

Featured photo: Courtesy of Making Babies via IMDb

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Americans Are Having Way Fewer Babies, New CDC Report Says

by Shahrzad WarkentinJanuary 18, 2019

If it seems like you’re seeing fewer baby bumps and birth announcements, you are correct. According to new research America’s fertility rate is declining.

A new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control found that in 2017, the total fertility rate for the United States was 16 percent lower than the population replacement rate, which is 2,100 births per 1,000 women over their lifetime. Although U.S. fertility rates have been on the decline for a while, this latest data represents the sharpest drop in recent years.

photo: Rawpixel via Unsplash

The report, which breaks down the fertility rate by state, found that only two states, South Dakota and Utah, had total fertility rates above replacement level. The location with the lowest rate was Washington, D.C., which had a rate of just 1,421 per 1,000 women.

It’s not all bad news, however. Some of this decline could be due to the fact that teenage pregnancy rates have also decreased. “We’ve been seeing, year after year, a precipitous drop in the number of births to teenage girls,”Dr. John Rowe, a professor at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, told NBC News.

“That’s good news. Not only are these children not having children, but they’re also getting a chance to finish high school. And that makes a huge difference to their lives.”

—Shahrzad Warkentin

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Gabrielle Union Posts Moving Birth Announcement After Years of Infertility Battles

by Erica LoopNovember 15, 2018

After a long journey, Gabrielle Union is finally a mom. The actress welcomed a daughter on Nov. 7 with her husband Dwayne Wade. Her birth announcement is so moving, especially given her fraught journey to parenthood.

Union has spoken openly about her fertility struggles. The new mom, now 46, suffered multiple miscarriages on her road to becoming a mommy. While appearing on Dr. Oz, she revealed that she’s had eight or nine miscarriages, but has “lost track” of the total number.

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A post shared by Gabrielle Union-Wade (@gabunion)

The rocky road to parenting didn’t end there. In her book We’re Going to Need More Wine: Stories That Are Funny, Complicated, and True, the actress candidly wrote about the miscarriages as well as her failed IVF attempts.

The now-new mama told People in 2017, “For so many women, and not just women in the spotlight, people feel very entitled to know, ‘Do you want kids?'” She went on to add, “A lot of people, especially people that have fertility issues, just say ‘no’ because that’s a lot easier than being honest about whatever is actually going on. People mean so well, but they have no idea the harm or frustration it can cause.”

After more than their fair share of disappointments Union and Wade tried surrogacy—and clearly it was a success! In her sweet IG announcement Union writes, “We are sleepless and delirious but so excited to share that our miracle baby arrived last night via surrogate and 11/7 will forever be etched in our hearts as the most loveliest of all the lovely days.”

Aww. Congrats to the new parents!

—Erica Loop

Featured Photo: Gabrielle Union via Instagram

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This Is the “Perfect” Age to Have a Baby, According to Science

by Shahrzad WarkentinFebruary 14, 2018

photo: Pixabay

Deciding if and when you’re ready to become a parent can be challenging. It can feel like no time is the exact right time until it happens. While the answer is ultimately different for everyone, there is apparently an age that research has found to be the best.

According to The Wall Street Journal, there is an ideal time in your life to get pregnant and that is up until age 32. A recent piece on the perfect age for everything, from marriage and pregnancy to getting a cell phone and making financial decisions, explained that the most fertile time in a woman’s life was before the age of 32. Getting pregnant before this age makes it the most successful time for conception. Research collected by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists concluded that 32 is the age when fertility begins to decline.

What do you think the perfect age is? Via @WSJ: https://t.co/GrQ4nHG2wk

— Ben Feder (@BenFederAuthor) February 2, 2018

That number doesn’t necessarily ring true with what is actually happening in the US, with the average age of women giving birth to their first baby steadily on the rise. In 2016, for the first time in history, the CDC reported more American women were becoming pregnant in their 30s than in the their 20s.

What do you think is the ideal age to start a family? Share your thoughts in the comments.

—Shahrzad Warkentin

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This Age Is When Getting Pregnant Is Harder for Women

by Erica LoopNovember 8, 2017

photo: Pexels

You did everything you were supposed to. You went to college, got a degree. You went to grad school, got another degree. You got a job. Or maybe just a kind-of-sort-of paying internship. And before you knew it you were pushing 30 and hadn’t even come close to meeting the love of your life. Your biological clock was tick, tick, ticking away and you started gobbling up every piece of info on when baby-making starts to become…umm, less possible. Well, you may have more time than you thought.

Come on, you’ve heard it all. Everyone says 35 is the age when your fertility takes a nose dive. So as you near that mid-30s mark you start panicking. Hold on just a moment. As it turns out, you may have more fertility time than you thought. Forty might be the new 35 in terms of getting preggo.

Okay, so by age 37-ish it does seem that getting (and staying) pregnant becomes more of a challenge. But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible, or even improbable. Looking at the stats from the CDC’s birth rates, younger women in their early 20s hit a record low in 2015. Likewise, the rates for mamas in their late 20s also declined. But the number of births for women in their 30s and early 40s rose.

While no one is saying that you should put off even thinking about having a baby until you’re fab and 40, that biological clock of yours just might have more time on it.

How old were you when you had your first baby? Tell us in the comments below.

How It Feels to Finally Have A Baby After A Long Struggle With Infertility

by Red TricycleJuly 6, 2016

This post from Sarah James originally appeared on Quora as an answer to the question “How does it feel to finally have a baby after a long struggle with fertility related issues?“

After 3 years of trying to get pregnant, we had our beautiful daughter through IVF two years ago. You spend all that time becoming increasingly desperate and afraid that, actually, it might never happen for you and you’ll have to come to terms with having no children. You lie awake at night imagining how that will feel and wondering if you’ll ever be able to get over it.

You smile tightly every time someone else gets pregnant – you so want to feel fully joyful for them and you really try. You make excuses for your friends children’s birthday parties that you just can’t face, and you endure idiot relatives shouting across the room at you at Christenings that “it’ll be you next!”

You listen to friends who’ve ‘accidentally’ fallen pregnant moan about how it’ll ruin their career and how it doesn’t fit into their financial plan, and you try hard not to wish bad things on them. You wonder if you’re broken and just don’t function normally.

You blame yourself. You feel that other people are discussing why you aren’t pregnant yet and you wonder when that will ever end. You try not to let it consume you and fill your life with noise, but you can never plan more than nine months ahead ‘just in case’. Every month you hope and every month when your period comes you try not to break down.

And then you are pregnant, and it feels like a miracle. I remember the day we got the positive test so clearly as one of the most joyful of my life. I couldn’t believe it so I tested again and again and again – we just laughed all day long.

The pregnancy was an absolute joy, constant happiness coupled with disbelief – you feel that you’re joining a club that you’ve previously been excluded from, and you can’t wait to meet your child. The labour was long and arduous and I began to doubt there was actually a baby there, and then suddenly there she was! We are so happy.

Even now I have periods where I can’t believe she exists, and I just feel grateful every day.

A New DIY Sperm Test Will Hit the Market This Fall

by Red TricycleApril 21, 2016

Photo: Stat News

For those looking to conceive but without easy access to a fertility center, a new at-home sperm test will be hitting the market in just a few months. The Trak Male Fertility Test, which was approved by the Food and Drug Administration earlier this month, will be available for consumer use this Fall.

So how does it work?

Men use a dropper to deposit a sample of their semen into a small well in the device. Powered by a small motor, the Trak quickly spins the semen so that the sperm cells settle on the bottom. The device then gauges the level of sperm cells in the sample.

You can learn more about it on trakfertility.com.

Is this something you’d try, or would you rather talk to the doc? Tell us in the comments below!

H/T: Stat News

ML Interest Tag: fertility

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