Supermodel Naomi Campbell gave the world a surprise with her Instagram announcement Tuesday that she’d welcomed her first child at the advanced age of 50.
So far, the British-born beauty is keeping quiet about the baby’s father and how her newborn arrived, whether through adoption, surrogacy, IVF treatment or even a natural conception.
Four years ago, she hinted she might take advantage of modern medicine to start a family, telling the UK’s Evening Standard magazine: “Now with the way science is, I think I can do it when I want.”
Whatever the method, Campbell has joined the ranks of thousands of mature moms in the US — medically defined as “geriatric mothers” — who are parenting infants at the age of 50 and above.
According to final 2019 data on births released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, some 1,073 children were born to females over the age of 50 that year.
“The number of births to women in this age group has generally increased since 1997,” the report stated.
It’s not known how many of those babies were naturally conceived. Still, considering research showing that women ages 45 to 49 have only a 1% chance of pregnancy each month (mainly due to declining egg quality), fertility experts believe most are the result of assisted reproduction techniques.
Dr. Joel Batzofin, of Rise Fertility in Orange County, Calif., did not treat Campbell. But he speculates that, if the model delivered her baby herself or used a surrogate, a practice now legal in New York, she almost certainly underwent IVF with donor eggs.
“I’ve had experience with these high-profile characters in the past, and sometimes they want to tell the story, but not the whole story,” he told The Post.
“They want people to think they are a super mom, even though the odds of successful IVF for women over 45 using their own eggs is less than 5%.”
Certainly Janet Jackson, who gave birth to her first child in 2017 after turning 50, has never disclosed whether or not she used a donor.
In contrast, Manhattan’s Tracey Kahn, a single mom who had her first daughter at 49 and her second at 51, is open about their origins.
“They both know I used donor eggs and sperm and are confident and proud of the fact,” she said.
On being an older parent, the owner of luxury jewelry company Mini Mini Jewels insists she has taken the role in stride.
Kahn, 57, explained: “Late motherhood has been a game changer for me, physically and emotionally. If you’re in shape, competent and optimistic, it’s the best thing to ever happen to you.”
She admits her “joints get tired” and that it can be challenging to “get on the floor to play at their level,” but adds: “Enjoying my girls without looking too far ahead” is the key to happiness.
Indeed, Batzofin has noticed a marked increase in IVF patients over the age of 40. They include women thawing eggs that were put on ice as long ago as 2012, when the medical community said the technique was no longer considered experimental. However, he will only treat patients who pass a stringent fitness test supervised by an OB-GYN in the specialist field of maternal fetal medicine.
“You have to be sure pregnancy won’t harm the mother. As they get older, pregnant women are at higher risk of increased blood pressure, hypertension, diabetes and placental issues,” said Batzofin.
“They can have great egg quality, whether it’s their own egg or provided by a donor, but I am not in the business of injuring someone.”
Kahn, who says her two pregnancies and deliveries by C-section were relatively straightforward, maintains the decision is worth the gamble, declaring that the older-mother “bandwagon is marching on.”
As for Campbell receiving criticism or judgment for her latest, unexpected life choice, Kahn noted: “I never care what other people think – and I don’t think Naomi does either.”
