When is an older mother TOO old? Meet the women becoming first-time parents in their fifties
John Travolta's wife Kelly Preston was thrilled when she became pregnant again last year at the age of 47.
But though many were surprised that the actress had successfully conceived in her late forties, it seems she is not alone.
Indeed, she could even be considered young when compared with a new generation of parents that are choosing to have children for the first time in their fifties.
It may seem a concept that defies nature, but with the help of fertility specialists, rising numbers of women are giving birth to their firstborns at an age when many of their peers are anticipating, or enjoying, grandparenthood.
First time mother: Fiona Palin, 49, who tried, unsuccessfully, to conceive for a decade, breastfeeds five-month-old daughter Kiki
Ann Maloney, who gave birth to her first baby at 50, is just one example.
She told New York Magazine how she and her second husband, John Ross, who she met when she was 47, conceived using a donor egg within a year of meeting.
Now a mother of two, the 60-year-old admitted she had to be brought out of menopause with hormones to carry her second daughter.
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But despite their advanced ages, Ms Maloney and Mr Ross insist they are dedicated parents to Lily, seven, and Isabella, ten.
'You don't know how high-energy, actually, both of us are,' Mr Ross said. 'I acted in 32 productions at Harvard, worked with ErikErikson, graduated near the top of my class. We are both very intense, and also nurturers.'
As father already to a 35-year-old son from a previous marriage, he admitted that his hope as a parent this time round was to do a better job.
'I wanted to rear a family in a better way,' he said.
Second chance: John Ross, 66, and Ann Maloney, 60, with their daughters Lily, seven, and Isabella, ten, say they are still both very high energy
Equally, Kate Garros, from Sea Cliff Long Island, missed out on the chance to become a mother earlier in life, and was 53 when she and her second husband conceived twins Alexandra and John with the help of donor eggs.
While she is clearly a loving mother to her now seven-year-old twins, the fact that she suffers from arthritis, like many other women of 61, is a constant reminder of her age.
As is judgement from others: 'If you don't meet people's expectations of what a mother looks like, they can't hack it,' she admits.
'I didn't have grandchildren, so I decided to make my own'
Fiona Palin, from Los Angeles, California, who, like Kelly Preston, was 48 when she gave birth to new baby daughter Katherine, is not much younger and also struggled to conceive.
Since she and husband Nick, 63, started trying for a baby ten years ago, she went through six failed IVFcycles and three tragic miscarriages.
She told the magazine how they had almost given up hope of ever becoming parents when they tried for the final time using their last frozen embryo.
'I thought, "This won't work. ! Don't pu t any hopes on it,"' she revealed. But nine months later, after a 'flawless' pregnancy, Katharine, or Kiki as she has become known, was born.
Five months on, Mrs Palin admits she is still very emotional about finally becoming a mother.
Older mother: Kate Garros, 61, conceived seven-year-old twins John and Alexandra at the age of 53 with the help of donor eggs
'I'mvery hormonal still, at the moment,' she said. 'And every now and then I just burst out crying.
'I am so happy. I can't believe it. I'm just so blessed. And I just wish this on everyone I know.'
Her husband is acutely aware that he could be his new daughter's grandparent.
He was not entirely joking when he quipped: 'I didn't have grandchildren, so I decided to make my own.'
'I might not be around when she's 30. If you sit down and look at the cold, hard facts, this is the truth'
So too, is his wife, who plans to sendtheir daughter to a boarding school when she reaches her teens in orderthat she can have something akin to 'sisters'.
'If you look at it from an actuarial standpoint, I might not be around when she's 30,'she admits. 'If you sit down and look at the cold, hard facts, this is the truth.'
Her concerns are echoed by Wisconsin psychologist Julianne Zweifel, who told the magazine: 'Children are entitled to at least one healthy, vibrant parent.
'Just because you're alive doesn't meanyou're healthy and vibrant,' she warned.
But the fact that first time mothers are getting older is an undeniable truth. Over the past ten years, the number of women over 45 giving birth has more than doubled in the U.S.
And, the Centers for Disease Control, revealed, there has been a 375 per cent increase in the same period for births among women over 50.
'Renewed purpose': John Travolta's wife Kelly Preston gave birth to son Benjamin last year at the age of 48
The rising figure is mostly thanks to improved technology and medicine. Egg-freezing, for example, allows women to delay motherhood like never before.
And, obstetricians argue, many women in their fifties today are as fit and healthy as women ten or 15 years younger.
Studies have shown that those who have put off having children in favour of a career are likely to be wealthier and better-educated than their peers, therefore in better physical health.
Fertility expert Richard Paulson, of the University of Southern California, who has helped many postmenopausal women conceive, runs a rigorous series of tests on every patient.
They include fitness checks, psychological assessment and even creating an artificial menstrual cycle.
'They're very young 50-year-olds,' Dr Paulson revealed. 'They really are.'
There are social contributors too though. With more men out of work than women, it is wives who are pressured to sustain a household income. And the career that funds that, delays motherhood.
Is 50 too old to become a first-time mother?
Angel La Liberte, who runs a California-based website for older mothers told the magazine: 'We ! are unde r unreasonable pressure.
'We are expected to manage ahousehold. We are expected to provide an income, and we're supposed to have children within a certain age limit.'
But the risks are still serious, as the article reminds us. Mothers over the age of 35 are 20 per cent more likely to give birth prematurely, which brings with it higher incidences of lung, digestive and neurological problems in the infant.
New generation of parents: A powerful feature in New York Magazine earlier this month drew attention to the women becoming mothers in their fifties
A mother-to-be in her forties is at higher risk of preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, and high blood pressure, and giving birth to a child with autism (studies show this is true for fathers over 40 too).
It is for these reasons that many fertility clinics impose age limits. When approached by a 48-year-old Ann Maloney, for example, NYU admitted concerns about her age. Columbia University eventually treated her.
But, outweighing all the negatives, there is no denying that these children could not be more wanted and loved.
If Mrs Palin's emotional description of new motherhood was not testament enough, Mr Travolta, 57, whose wife's pregnancy followed the tragic death of their 16-year-old son Jett, admitted that he could not be more thrilled.
'Hes given the house a renewed spirit and purpose,' he said.
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