When a woman wants to have a baby, that desire never ever goes away, no matter how much we downplay it. Many of us try for months or even years to conceive and/or carry a baby to full term. And when you’re 40 and older, that biological clock becomes more of a booming alarm that’s constantly banging in your head. Tracking your cycles, fertile periods, dpos, ovulation kits, pregnancy tests, confusing period symptoms with pregnancy symptoms, and then disappointment.

Or, you do get a positive pregnancy test only to miscarry in the 1st trimester sometimes multiple times. The cycle is emotional and exhausting! And then once you get to that point of exhaustion, you finally just give up. And then surprisingly, you get pregnant. After the initial shock and excitement wears off though, fear and anxiety rear their ugly heads. The constant worrying of if this pregnancy will stick, constantly looking for pink, brown, or red whenever you use the restroom, is my baby moving enough, preterm labor, the list goes on and on. Look, I get it. I’ve been there and you’re not alone.

I had my only daughter at 25 years old, my first son at 41, and my second son at 43 years old. I never envisioned having children in my 40’s but when I got married at 41 to my husband who never had any but wanted children, there was definitely the discussion that I may not be able to have any more children because of my age. So initially we didn’t necessarily “try” to get pregnant, but we didn’t try to prevent it either, although after about 6 months of not getting pregnant I was really starting to question my ability to conceive. And then I did something and within a month I became pregnant (you can read about that “something” HERE).

Now, an attorney and mother of 3, I can honestly say that each time I became pregnant, miscarriages included, I wasn’t trying. The times that I was “trying” I never became pregnant. That invisible stress that continually builds up internally, be it from our careers, partners, children, finances, health, or other family and friends, cripples us and many times prevents us from creating an environment in which a baby can be conceived. Stress creates hostility in our bodies. And the process of the sperm fertilizing an egg is hostile enough, so when the two are trying to get together, that big ball of stress will do everything that it can to destroy that union before it gets too comfortable in your uterus.

If you’re reading this, you’ve likely heard many times that you need to stop stressing about getting pregnant and just let it happen. I know from experience that is soooooooo much easier said than done, right?!?!

But after experiencing this frustrating cycle myself, overcoming it, having 2 children over 40, creating a “Pregnancy After Forty Private Group” which now has over 7,500 members, starting the “Pregnancy After 40” Podcast which features success stories of women having babies after 40 and connecting with various fertility experts, reproductive clinics, maternal-fetal medicine specialists, doulas, midwives, birthing centers, labor and delivery nurses and professionals over the years, writing a book about Fertility Tips  for Women over 40 Years Old was a no brainer.

Additionally, with my "40 Fertility Tips" for women over 40 years old, I provide you with the knowledge, information, research, tools, and resources that you need to assist you in your “Pregnancy After 40” journey in order to increase your chances of conceiving and then carrying that baby until delivery. So, whether you’re trying to conceive naturally or with assistance via IUI, IVF, Egg and/or Sperm Donation and you’re over 40 years old, we have fertility tips for you to get you closer to having your dream baby.

Click HERE to purchase the book 40 Fertility Tips for Women over 40

Michelle Johnson