A Montreal woman became a mother at 48 after going through a complex process that cost more than $100,000 in fertility treatments. Today she makes the most of her two-year-old son and does everything in her power to keep him healthy and let him age as long as possible.
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“When my son is 18, I won’t be a young girl, that’s very clear,” laughs Véronick Raymond, whose son was born in August 2021. Personally, I wouldn’t have been able to become a mother before my 40s. . I think it’s extraordinary to have a child at this age.”
The call to motherhood had not resonated much with this science journalist, who had prioritized her career in her thirties. But at the age of 36, they and their long-term partner decided to adopt internationally.
A project worth more than $100,000
After several years of waiting and failure, they put the project aside. At 40, Ms. Raymond finally went to a fertility clinic with her partner. More years of failure followed, this time with artificial insemination. In November 2020, the woman finally became pregnant using eggs purchased in the USA. Total cost of bill: more than $100,000.
“We joked and said we had mortgaged my uterus,” recalls the one who didn’t think it would take that long to get pregnant.
Despite her 47-year pregnancy, Ms. Raymond had no complications.
“From the inside, if you’re in good shape, you don’t necessarily feel like it’s that late,” she analyzes.
While many women become grandmothers in their 50s, Ms. Raymond’s family reality has drawn funny commentary over the past year.
“I’m not his grandmother, I’m his mother!” she replied to a passerby on the street who had confused her with her son’s grandmother.
Today the woman is full of happiness and admits that her advanced age is changing her perspective on the future.
“It is clear that the risks for us are greater. “We believe we have a responsibility to stay in shape to be the best we can be in the years to come,” she emphasizes. It is clear that he will spend fewer years with his parents than the average of his friends.”
Not afraid, but aware
In addition, they ensure that their son is well surrounded by younger family members such as cousins in the worst case scenario.
“We are not worried, but we are aware of it,” claims the one who is convinced that with age you can be a better mother.
“Of course, at 20 you no longer have the same energy for a child as at 40. But I don’t know the difference, I’ve never had one! This doesn’t change anything for me,” she assures.
And in her case, going through the fertility process after 40 wasn’t a daunting thing. However, if she could change one element of her journey, she would have started in vitro fertilization immediately.
“I have entered into a process […] and I calmly finished what we had started. [L’âge] “It is a factor like any other that needs to be taken into account,” she concludes.
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