There's still a lot we don't know about women's bodies later in life, especially when it comes to perimenopause, menopause, and how late into life a woman can become pregnant and carry a baby to term.
Actress Claire Danes opened up recently about her emotional experience of finding out she was pregnant at the age of 44 with her future daughter, Shay, who was later born in 2023. Danes also has two sons, Rowan and Cyrus, and all three children are five years apart, born in 2012, 2018, and 2023.
Danes previously shared on the SmartLess Podcast that it took her by surprise:
"I didn't think it was possible. I really didn't... I was terrified."
"I did not foresee this at all. And it was weird. Suddenly, I felt, like, a funny shame. Like I was naughty and had been caught fornicating past the point I was meant to."
Danes opened up even more about the experience while guest-starring on the Good Hang Podcast with Amy Poehler, where they talked about a wide range of topics through the lens of getting older, including exercise, friendship, acting, and of course, surprise pregnancies.
Amy Poehler gently broached the subject:
"Kind of a surprise? Out of the blue?"
At first, Claire Danes just said:
"Uh, whoa."
Poehler gently broached further:
"...Did you burst into tears when you found out you were pregnant again?"
That opened the floodgates for Danes:
"Yes! I called my OB-GYN in convulsive tears. It was a pure meltdown."
"None of this was by design. I didn't know it was physically possible. I was 44."
"Plus, Rowan was very hard-earned. I had to do two rounds of IVF. It just was so unlikely."
"I had two strong cocktails at dinner, and then, first thing in the morning, hit CVS. It was bold, capslock, 'PREGNANT'... and I burst into tears."
You can watch the segment here:
- YouTubeyoutu.be
Viewers agreed that having a baby later in life could be an unexpected and very emotional experience.
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Danes has since clarified that her daughter, Shay, was born healthy and that she has been nothing but happy to have her three children. Though it was not "by design,' it was a design plan change that Danes happily welcomed.
This is a great reminder that sometimes we'll be taken by surprise by something only to realize that the surprise makes life so much better.
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