Gold medal gymnasts Nadia Comaneci & Bart Conner expecting first child - a boy

[mia981]

Gold-medal gymnasts Nadia Comaneci, 44, and Bart Conner, 47, announced Tuesday they're expecting their first child. The baby boy will be born in July. Nadia, who was the first to score a perfect 10 in Olympic history, spoke to the Associated Press today, saying,

"It's a new chapter in our lives. I'm happy...It kind of makes my life and Bart's life and our family's lives complete. We are so ecstatic. It's awesome...At this stage in our life, it's wonderful news." [And] what a coincidence," Comaneci said, laughing. "We got married in 1996, I got my 10 in 1976. The baby is due to arrive in July, the month I scored the 10. We didn't plan it that way, but what better timing. I was telling Bart that this looks like the perfect present for my 30th anniversary."

Source: Forbes/AP

[calendargurl]

they're too old to have their first.

[mia981]

yeah i thought so too

[MrsDark]

Why? She doesn't look too old. I'm sure her physical age is the equivalent of someone chronologically much younger than 44. I do know people that age who are in worse health than your average 65 year old and practically have one foot in the grave. But others who are in better condition and health than some 24 year olds. It's all a combo of genes and taking care of ones self and staying active.

[Bellatheball]

Wow, that was my first thought too. Of course, I thought they were closer to 50. More power to them.

[Grimmlok]

I'm surprised someone actually named their kid "Bart".

[LynnieD]

And look, announced just in time for the Winter Olympics!

[LoreleiG]

Why? She doesn't look too old. I'm sure her physical age is the equivalent of someone chronologically much younger than 44. I do know people that age who are in worse health than your average 65 year old and practically have one foot in the grave. But others who are in better condition and health than some 24 year olds. It's all a combo of genes and taking care of ones self and staying active.

Nope. Her eggs are old. You can take the very best care of yourself in the world, but your eggs are your eggs and they get old, no matter how much Pilates or Yoga you do.

She might look younger, and she might be in good shape, but her eggs are old. The odds are pretty good she had help to get pregnant, and there's a high likelihood it was a donor egg.

[MrsDark]

At 44? Maybe it's just me but I know several women over 40 who had no problem getting pregnant the old-fashioned way. And believe it or not most of these were an *oops*...not even women who were trying! So the eggs must not be THAT old and defective for everyone in their 40's. It's been shown that men's lifestyle can affect the sperm quality (not just quantity) so I don't see why the eggs of a 40 yr old with good genes who took care of herself wouldn't be just as good as those of a 20something who has abused her body.

[LoreleiG]

At 44? Maybe it's just me but I know several women over 40 who had no problem getting pregnant the old-fashioned way. And believe it or not most of these were an *oops*...not even women who were trying! So the eggs must not be THAT old and defective for everyone in their 40's. It's been shown that men's lifestyle can affect the sperm quality (not just quantity) so I don't see why the eggs of a 40 yr old with good genes who took care of herself wouldn't be just as good as those of a 20something who has abused her body.

It just is that way, unfortunately.

Statistically speaking, that's just how the ovaries and eggs work. A woman is born with all the eggs she will ever have, and they start to age, no matter what you do on the outside of your body, or how you eat, or take care of yourself. Sperm, on the other hand, are always being made, throughout a lifetime. Male fertility does decline with age, though, too, just not as quickly as females.

The percentage of women that get pregnant unassisted in their forties is a miniscule part of the reproductive population.

I don't mean to be a nag, it's just one of those things, with information, that I'm not sure many people realize that eggs really do have a shelf life, and in the vast majority of cases, you don't just wake up one day at 44 pregnant.

Just call it my annoying PSA for the day.

http://www.sharedjourney.com/articles/age.html

[A*O]

It's true - the quality of your eggs rapidly deteriorates after the age of about 35. Women seem to think they can get pregnant easily right up until menopause when egg production ceases. How many panic-stricken 40-somethings do you know who suddenly realise they've probably left it too late and go into a fertility treatment frenzy hoping to have the child they should have had 10 years earlier but their career came first? I know several and it's a bit pathetic hearing them bleat "nobody told me" Well, durrrrr

Having said that 40-somethings DO occasionally conceive naturally (and often unexpectedly) and good for them. My neighbour (43) found herself preggo quite by surprise and she was delighted - her 12yr old son wasn't so keen though. Anyway, it all went according to plan and her daughter is now a year old. The mother is an emotional and physical wreck - she has found the whole process of dealing with a baby at her age extremely difficult and although she does not regret having a late baby, she freely admits she had NO idea of the exhausting toll it would take on her.

[pinkdiamondgrl]

LoreleiG is right...After 3 your fertility declines signifigantly. Thats the hard cold fact.
I had my daughter at 35.....thought about having another child but at 38 1/2, I think I'm out. Its just too exhausting.

Obviously I meant after 35, not 3....LOL!!!!

[SVZ]

It's just hormones, there's absolutely no way to keep your hormones the same as you were when you were 18-20.

[A*O]

Yeah but the sad thing is SV that a LOT of women in their late 30's and 40's truly think they CAN have a baby when they finally feel like it. Hey, they have regular periods so why the hell not??? They then feel outraged when the docs tell them their eggs are crap now so they probably can't and they winge and whine that 'nobody told me'. Like I say, DURRR - read your human biology 101 books again darl. It's all part of the I Can Have It All Syndrome that afflicts so many women today. Sorry hon, but no you can't have it all if you left it too late because you were so wrapped up in your career and taking care of No.1 I have very little sympathy - it should be obvious that you are less fertile at 40 than you were at even 30 so boo, hoo.

This does NOT include women who have been trying for years to have children.

[sasha89]

I work in the fertility field and the odds of a woman getting PG with her own eggs at age 45 is in the manner of 1%. The Society of Assisted Reproductive Medicine (who we send our data to) doesn't even report pregnancies over the age of 43 to the CDC. They are almost always with donor egg. We have a great success rate where I work, but very, very few PGs over the age of 43 with someone with their own eggs. Your follicle stimulating hormone increases as you age resulting in poor quality eggs and low ovarian reserve. You might have them, but they are usually bad. We don't even blink an eye when someone over 42 gets PG in Hollywood as we know it was with help and most likely with donor egg. Sorry for the medical seminar. It burns me a little that doctors don't educate their patients about age and fertility and the media doesn't get the WHOLE story. I respect people's privacy, but it's very misleading to the general public with respect to waiting so long to start a family.