Actress Therese Bam’s baby proves that women can fall pregnant after 40

Actress and presenter Therese Bam and her architect husband Chris Bam’s baby boy was born on 18 August after the couple had undergone many challenges in order for the 44-year-old actress to fall pregnant.

After three years of struggling to conceive, Therese took to Instagram in March saying that they are happy to report that she is pregnant. She found out that she was expecting the day before Christmas last year.

“With the help and advice from numerous experts, specialists and a brilliant egg donor, and above all expectations, our biggest dream became reality after three years,” she wrote.

She also said it was a long road, with five rounds of IVF behind them, but their big adventure was only starting and she wouldn’t have walked the difficult road with anyone other than her husband. The couple got married in 2017.

Therese fell pregnant after the second egg implantation from their anonymous egg donor and although the actress did not share much of her pregnancy online, she was open about the fact that it was an IVF pregnancy and that they were on a “#donoreggjourney”.

READ: Pregnancy complications – What you need to know about gestational diabetes.

She also spoke to Dr Darren Green about her and her husband’s pregnancy journey on the kykNET programme, Tussen Ons Medies recently.

During the interview, Therese said: “I started late, but I’ve always been a late bloomer.”

She said her sister got married late, too, and that she fell pregnant rather quickly, but that this was not the case with her and her husband’s pregnancy journey.

Therese said that the IVF process was emotionally draining and made her realise how much hurt families and couples who struggled to conceive went through. She told Dr Green: “I will never, ever, ever take this for granted.”

Known for her roles in Villa Rosa, Home Affairs and Suidooster, the popular Kwêla presenter initially caught South Africans’ attention while playing alongside Valiant Swart in the Afrikaans series, Song vir Katryn.

Tips for when you’re struggling to fall pregnant

• Remember that you are not alone. One out of six couples struggles to fall pregnant.
• If you don’t fall pregnant within the first six months, consider seeing a specialist.
• Dr Dawie Slabbert is the gynaecologist and an infertility specialist who assisted Therese on her pregnancy journey.
• They later moved over to Aevitas Fertility Clinic in Cape Town, where Dr Victor Hulme was their specialist. He is passionate about IVF and has a special interest in egg freezing.
• Gauteng-based fertility specialists can be found at the Pretoria Fertility Centre, FemiCare Fertility Clinic or Vitalab.
• There are various reasons why a women’s egg cells aren’t performing properly, with age often being one of the reasons.
• Women’s egg count starts decreasing from the age of 35. Your chances to fall pregnant after the age of 42 are therefore rather slim.
• Therese and her husband made use of the Nurture Egg Donor Agency for their egg donor.
• She also made use of a therapist who guided her through the process emotionally, which is definitely something to keep in mind.