Entertainment

Janet Jackson’s Pregnancy At 50 ‘Damaging’ For Women Struggling To Get Pregnant

Published on: May 16, 2016 at 11:24 AM
By Stacey Cole

Janet Jackson turns 50-years-old today, May 16, having been born in 1966.

Janet Jackson’s pregnancy at the age of 50 triggered quite an uproar among fertility experts, according to ABC . The sister of the late Michael Jackson could set an “unrealistic” benchmark for many women struggling to get pregnant, an Australian-based fertility expert warned.

Dr. Vamsee Thalluri, who works at the Adelaide firm Repromed, said in his interview with ABC that reports of female celebrities falling pregnant after the age of 43 could sometimes be unhealthy for women and even set unrealistic expectations. And Janet Jackson’s pregnancy on the verge of turning 50 is one of those cases.

“It’s rarely mentioned that for the most part many celebrities who fall pregnant after the age of 43 have done so via IVF using donor eggs.”

Referring to Janet Jackson’s example, Dr. Thalluri explained that it often gives women unrealistic expectations and gives them hope that they could get pregnant after the age of 43 naturally. In fact, the fertility expert even said a woman at the age of 40 has a 7 percent chance of getting pregnant while one-in-two eggs are most likely to be genetically abnormal.

But after 44, it’s “nearly impossible” to get pregnant, according to Dr. Thalluri. The only way it’s feasible is by using donated eggs. Since reporting about Janet Jackson’s pregnancy at the age of 50 gives women unrealistic hopes, the fertility expert said it’s important for women to understand the challenges of falling pregnant after 40.

“I’ve seen women who come to me and tell me [former model] Kelly Preston, for example, fell pregnant at age 47 — Janet Jackson’s now falling pregnant, so why am I finding it difficult?”

Dr. Thalluri admitted that even though getting pregnant in older women is “achievable,” the way to achieve it is “a little bit more complicated” than how the media reports it. And Janet Jackson’s pregnancy is one of those instances that lead women on.

Louise Johnson, the chief executive at Victorian Reproductive Treatment Authority, said those “unrealistic” expectations could become emotionally damaging for women struggling to conceive on their own. While many of Janet Jackson’s fans were excited by the news of their favorite singer getting pregnant, older mothers could get emotionally damaged by it.

“We know from our own research that men and women underestimate by about 10 years when fertility starts to decline.”

Meanwhile, another IVF specialist and fertility expert says it’s “not helpful” for women struggling to get pregnant on their own when they read news about Janet Jackson getting pregnant at the age of 50 just two months after she had announced plans to “focus on our family,” according to Australian News .

Dr. Devora Lieberman, who works at Sydney’s Genea clinic, said people are confused when they hear Janet Jackson announcing her plans to get pregnant and then two months later news of her pregnancy on the verge of turning 50 surfaces on the internet.

“All the time people say to me, ‘Well, [John Travolta’s wife] Kelly Preston fell pregnant at 47, why can’t I?’”

It was reported last month that Janet Jackson postponed her tour around the United States in order to “focus on our family” with husband Wissam al Mana, who is 41-years-old. But according to fertility experts, Jackson got pregnant with the help of an egg donor.

According to IVF Australia’s medical director Professor Peter Illingworth, women over 45 can conceive on their own, but doing IVF with their own eggs is “almost always unsuccessful.” So the professor claims that the only thing that helps women over 45 to get pregnant is getting an egg donor. And the younger the egg donor, the more chances of getting pregnant.

[Photo by Francois Nel/Getty Images]

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