Unfortunately, for many career women who delay child-bearing, it is a hard slap in the face when receiving a diagnosis of infertility after they cannot conceive naturally later in life; I was one of those women.
I can tell when you want to be held, and I know by the sound of your breathing when you finally fall asleep listening to the beat of my heart. I know when you are going to wake up, and I know when you are fighting sleep. I know when you want me to talk to you, and I know how to calm you down.
As a high-risk obstetrician, I should have realized the significance of that milestone in my life, but I didn’t. Like many career women, I put my career plans first and had convinced myself that NOT having children would be OK.
Finally, positive attention is being paid to the aging woman. Women in their 40s look better, feel better, have successful careers and seem to be able to do it all. For once, the “mature” woman is being celebrated rather than lamented. 40 is the new 30!
I knew from a very early age that I wanted to go to college and have a career. It wasn’t until my sophomore year in college, though, that I made the decision to pursue medicine — a career path that would ultimately take 15 years of my life to accomplish.
The other day, I saw a new patient in my office. She was 39 years old, healthy, a successful career woman, pregnant for the first time — and scared to death. After trying for two years to conceive, she had finally done it.
I am a double board certified ObGyn and Maternal-Fetal Medicine Specialist. I have worked at a large academic center in academic medicine as a clinician, educator and researcher since 2004. I am currently a tenured Professor and actively manage patients with high-risk pregnancies.
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I do not do private consults or review medical records submitted by patients.
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