Brazilian actress Cláudia Raia couldn’t believe it when doctors delivered the news — she was pregnant at age 55.

“When the doctor asked me for a beta, the pregnancy blood test, I said, ‘Baby, you’re really crazy. Where did you get this from? I’m 55 years old,'” she recalled in an Instagram Story translated by a Portuguese media outlet and featured in The Sun.

Raia, who turned 56 in December, welcomed baby boy Luca on Saturday. He is her first child with her third husband, Jarbas Homem de Mello, whom she married in 2018. She is a mom to two other children, Enzo, 25, and Sophia, 20.

Raia announced Luca’s arrival in an Instagram post, showing the newborn resting between his two parents.

In the caption, which was translated into English, she wrote her son was “already claiming his space.”

Recalling the initial shock, Raia explained that she couldn’t wait for the blood test results to come in, so she went to the pharmacy and bought herself a Clearblue pregnancy test. What happened next rocked her world.

“Then I took the test and [it showed I was] more than 3 weeks pregnant, I said: ‘It cannot be. Guys, I’m 55 years old,'” she continued. “I looked up and spoke to God: ‘I’m 55 years old, do you want to drive me crazy? That’s not life.'”

Somehow she managed to accept the results.

“But then there’s the thing of 99.9% accuracy, precision, then I said: ‘Oh my God, I’m pregnant, how did this happen?’” she reasoned. “I needed to share this with you, because it even says how many weeks you are, it’s to fall hard on the floor.”

There are risks to having a baby at “advanced maternal age,” which is defined as over 35, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, stillbirth, and premature birth are some of the concerns.

Raia reported she had unsuccessfully underwent IVF, according to Portugal Posts English. So it was unbelievable when she conceived naturally at the age of 55. She believed she was in menopause when she conceived.

The Portuguese star isn’t the only mom to become pregnant at an older age — in 2021, a teacher from New Hampshire became one of the oldest American women to give birth, at 57. And in 2019, a 67-year-old woman from China welcomed a healthy baby girl.

Last year, a woman revealed she achieved her dream of becoming a mother when she gave birth to two children in her 50s.

Source: Jane Herz/Nypost.com

Date Posted: Sunday, February 19th, 2023 , Total Page Views: 2784