This 56-year-old TV star is an unexpected new mum
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Is age really just a number? For TV star Claudia Raia, that seems to be the case. Because when she was advised to take a pregnancy test, the 56-year-old thought that her doctor was crazy.
So, imagine her surprise when the test came back positive!
Late last year, Brazilian actress Claudia Raia announced that she was pregnant with her first child from her marriage to fellow actor, Jarbas Homem de Mello – her partner for over three years.
She broke the news to the public through a post on Instagram, where she shared a clip where she appeared to be tap-dancing next to her husband before pointing to her belly, indicating that she was pregnant.
‘Our dream of becoming parents is nothing new,’ she captioned.
She even displayed the pregnancy test which indicated that she was three weeks into her pregnancy.
Claudia is already a mum to 25-year-old Enzo Celulari and 19-year-old Sophia Raia, two children she had from her 17-year marriage to actor Edson Celulari.
Now, the actress has given birth to her third child – baby Luca – in a maternity hospital in Sao Paulo on 11 February. Claudia posted photos of her child snuggled in between her and her husband – much to the delight of her 8.5 million followers.
‘Luca arrived, lighting up Saturday night!’ She wrote.
‘The world, since then, has had a new makeover for our family. We are overflowing with happiness and love! Welcome, Luca!’ The actress continued.
In her stories, Claudia recalled how she discovered the arrival of baby Luca. She confided that she called her doctor ‘crazy’ when she was ordered to take a blood test.
‘Guys, you saw the news of the year in my feed…When the doctor asked me for a beta-hCG, the pregnancy blood test, I said: “Love, you’re really crazy. Where did you get this from? I’m 55 years old.” Then she said: “But I need to investigate because all your rates are different, they are strange,”’ Claudia explained.
She further stated that she couldn’t stand not knowing, so she went and bought a pregnancy test. ‘I couldn’t stand it, I had to take the test,’ she added before mentioning that she didn’t really want to wait a day and a half for the blood test to come back.
‘Then I took the test and found out that I was more than 3 weeks pregnant. I said: “It cannot be. I’m 55 years old.” Claudia said she knew that the pregnancy was going to drive her crazy because she knew that having a baby at her age would be difficult.
The results from the doctor came back and confirmed that she was, indeed, pregnant.
Although it is rare for women over the age of 50 to become pregnant naturally, with the advances in assisted reproductive technology, it has become increasingly more common.
In 2021, an Indian woman gave birth to a healthy baby boy – at the age of 70. Jivunben Rabari welcomed her son through In Vitro Fertilisation or IVF, a method that can be effective even after menopause.
After being married for over 45 years, Rabari and her husband Maldhari (who is 75) shared that they were unsuccessful in conceiving a baby for decades. They then decided to go through the process of IVF, where an egg donated by a younger woman is fertilised outside of the body.
‘This is one of the rarest cases I have ever seen,’ the couple’s doctor explained. You can read more details about their story here.
According to other women who have shared their experience with IVF, the process felt ‘surreal’.
One woman had reservations about the procedure because she was worried that the baby wouldn’t be ‘hers’ entirely. ‘I was thinking, would she look like me? Would she have my nose? My hair colour?’ She stated.
But then her doctor started talking about how, when you carry a baby, its behaviour and personality was shaped entirely during the pregnancy. And this is what led her to go ahead with the process. But then there was an egg donor and sperm donor to choose from.
‘You do it all online and it seems a bit surreal, and yes, you do think you’re playing God. These two people will never meet, never know one another, and together their cells will create a baby – your baby,’ she admitted.
There’s also a ‘fog’ around the subject of artificial conception since a lot of women feel like it’s still a taboo subject. Nina Barnsley, the Director of the Donor Conception Network, said: ‘Many older mothers feel they are up against it enough in terms of other people’s views, and being open about this would be something else to criticise them for.’
Meanwhile, celebrities who are older than 50 are often coy about how they conceived their children. This gives rise to the misconception that people can easily postpone pregnancy until their 50s or 60s.
‘As a society, we need to have a proper conversation,’ Ms Barnsley said.
‘The technology means it’s possible to have babies until we’re 75 – but is that what we want?’
What an interesting story, wouldn’t you agree? Could you imagine having a baby at 56? What are your thoughts on having children this late in life, members? Share them with us in the comments below!
So, imagine her surprise when the test came back positive!
Late last year, Brazilian actress Claudia Raia announced that she was pregnant with her first child from her marriage to fellow actor, Jarbas Homem de Mello – her partner for over three years.
She broke the news to the public through a post on Instagram, where she shared a clip where she appeared to be tap-dancing next to her husband before pointing to her belly, indicating that she was pregnant.
‘Our dream of becoming parents is nothing new,’ she captioned.
The pair broke the news of their pregnancy on Instagram. Credit: claudiaraia/Instagram
She even displayed the pregnancy test which indicated that she was three weeks into her pregnancy.
Claudia is already a mum to 25-year-old Enzo Celulari and 19-year-old Sophia Raia, two children she had from her 17-year marriage to actor Edson Celulari.
Now, the actress has given birth to her third child – baby Luca – in a maternity hospital in Sao Paulo on 11 February. Claudia posted photos of her child snuggled in between her and her husband – much to the delight of her 8.5 million followers.
‘Luca arrived, lighting up Saturday night!’ She wrote.
‘The world, since then, has had a new makeover for our family. We are overflowing with happiness and love! Welcome, Luca!’ The actress continued.
Claudia shared this heart-warming photo of baby Luca between her and her husband. Credit: claudiaraia/Instagram
In her stories, Claudia recalled how she discovered the arrival of baby Luca. She confided that she called her doctor ‘crazy’ when she was ordered to take a blood test.
‘Guys, you saw the news of the year in my feed…When the doctor asked me for a beta-hCG, the pregnancy blood test, I said: “Love, you’re really crazy. Where did you get this from? I’m 55 years old.” Then she said: “But I need to investigate because all your rates are different, they are strange,”’ Claudia explained.
She further stated that she couldn’t stand not knowing, so she went and bought a pregnancy test. ‘I couldn’t stand it, I had to take the test,’ she added before mentioning that she didn’t really want to wait a day and a half for the blood test to come back.
‘Then I took the test and found out that I was more than 3 weeks pregnant. I said: “It cannot be. I’m 55 years old.” Claudia said she knew that the pregnancy was going to drive her crazy because she knew that having a baby at her age would be difficult.
The results from the doctor came back and confirmed that she was, indeed, pregnant.
Claudia already has two children from a previous marriage. Credit: claudiaraia/Instagram
Although it is rare for women over the age of 50 to become pregnant naturally, with the advances in assisted reproductive technology, it has become increasingly more common.
In 2021, an Indian woman gave birth to a healthy baby boy – at the age of 70. Jivunben Rabari welcomed her son through In Vitro Fertilisation or IVF, a method that can be effective even after menopause.
After being married for over 45 years, Rabari and her husband Maldhari (who is 75) shared that they were unsuccessful in conceiving a baby for decades. They then decided to go through the process of IVF, where an egg donated by a younger woman is fertilised outside of the body.
‘This is one of the rarest cases I have ever seen,’ the couple’s doctor explained. You can read more details about their story here.
According to other women who have shared their experience with IVF, the process felt ‘surreal’.
One woman had reservations about the procedure because she was worried that the baby wouldn’t be ‘hers’ entirely. ‘I was thinking, would she look like me? Would she have my nose? My hair colour?’ She stated.
But then her doctor started talking about how, when you carry a baby, its behaviour and personality was shaped entirely during the pregnancy. And this is what led her to go ahead with the process. But then there was an egg donor and sperm donor to choose from.
‘You do it all online and it seems a bit surreal, and yes, you do think you’re playing God. These two people will never meet, never know one another, and together their cells will create a baby – your baby,’ she admitted.
There’s also a ‘fog’ around the subject of artificial conception since a lot of women feel like it’s still a taboo subject. Nina Barnsley, the Director of the Donor Conception Network, said: ‘Many older mothers feel they are up against it enough in terms of other people’s views, and being open about this would be something else to criticise them for.’
Meanwhile, celebrities who are older than 50 are often coy about how they conceived their children. This gives rise to the misconception that people can easily postpone pregnancy until their 50s or 60s.
‘As a society, we need to have a proper conversation,’ Ms Barnsley said.
‘The technology means it’s possible to have babies until we’re 75 – but is that what we want?’
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