Supermodel Naomi Campbell surprised everyone and shared that she had her first baby. The news took everyone by surprise because many didn’t know she was expecting and the beautiful model turned 50-years-old recently. She announced the unexpected birth on social media this week. A representative for Campbell confirmed the news.
“A beautiful little blessing has chosen me to be her mother,” Campbell wrote on Instagram. “So honoured to have this gentle soul in my life there are no words to describe the lifelong bond that I now share with you my angel. There is no greater love.”
The announcement accompanied a sweet photo of her hand cradling the newborn’s feet, with the delicate floral print of the baby’s gown visible in the image.
The model’s mother Valerie Morris-Campbell shared a sweet post congratulating her daughter on the new addition.
Reposting Campbell’s photo of the infant’s feet, Campbell-Morris wrote, “Congratulations to my daughter Naomi on the birth of her daughter.”
“I’m beyond thrilled as I’ve waited a long time to be a grandmother. ❤️😍,” she added, including the hashtags “proud,” “mother,” “grandmother,” “love” and “family.”
In the comment section, several famous friends congratulated Campbell on becoming a parent, including Zoe Saldana, who wrote, “❤️❤️❤️ oh my goodness congrats lady! What a blessing!!!”
“Many many many congratulations to you and to your family,” wrote Jodie Turner-Smith, “the village that will now rally around you and support you in cultivating that little angel!!!! what an incredible blessing!!! 💞💞💞”
Today show anchor Hoda Kotb, who became a mom at the age of 52 when she adopted daughter Haley Joy in 2017, teared up on Tuesday’s “Today” show while speaking about Campbell’s new baby and reflecting on the first time she was able to tell a stranger that she was a mother.
“Literally I dead-stopped when that woman asked me, ‘Do you have kids?’ and I looked at her and I go, ‘I do.’ … It was so moving,” Kotb, now 56, said.
If you think Naomi and Hoda are the only women having babies later in life, think again.
Births by women ages 50 to 54 rose by more than 165 percent from the year 2000 (255 births) to 2013 (677 births), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The overall increase in fertility rates for women 35 and older during the last two decades is linked, in large, to IVF. The first child born through the fertility-enhanced method was in 1978 in England. Sure enough, from 2008 to 2012, the birth rate in England doubled for women 50 and older.
The majority of 50-plus women who became pregnant used donor eggs fertilized by sperm and implanted into a womb.
The average age for menopause is 51. Fertility decreases through the 30s, ebbs much further in the 40s and is largely extinguished by 45, medical experts say.
A 2012 physician-published study revealed the health of women 50 and older who gave birth using donated eggs was as good as for younger recipients — if they had been well-screened and cared for during and after delivery.
Ideally, the important decision of whether to attempt a high-risk pregnancy should be made after consultations with fertility specialists, and medical tests to ensure the safety of the prospective mother.
According to multiple sources, Naomi has been wanting to be a mother for a long time and it finally happened.
She is the godmother to many friends and family’s kids and has always looked forward to the day of starting her own family.
Back in 2017, Naomi said, “I think about having children all the time. But now with the way science is, I think I can do it when I want.”