Melbourne super mum Rosie Giampaolo has given birth to three IVF babies in three years.
At 53, she knows some will question her choice to have babies later in life, but Ms Giampaolo said it was a considered decision made with expert medical guidance and fully supported by her family.
“Really, it is no one’s business but ours,” she said. “When I met (my husband) Rob he didn’t have children of his own and it was important to me to give him that. Our goal was to have a family together.”
“Dr Lynn made our dreams a reality.”
“Dr Lynn” is IVF specialist Lynn Burmeister who, with the generosity of an egg donor the couple met through Egg Donors Australia, helped them welcome Luca, 3, Leonardo, 2, and baby Leia.
Mr Giampaolo, 49, and five adult children from Ms Giampaolo’s first marriage agree the newest additions bring love, joy and just a little chaos to their busy home.
“It has definitely changed things,” daughter Natasha Coshill says. “There is a lot more energy and laughter.”
Three generations of the family live together including Mr Giampaolo’s elderly mum and his brother, who requires around-the-clock care.
Ms Giampaolo’s two eldest children James, 31, and Hayley-Rose, 29, do not live at home, but Christine, 27, Natasha, 24, and Marc, 22, do.
“We don’t always get everything right,” Ms Giampacio said. “I am looking around the room and there’s books and dinosaurs and toys, but we wouldn’t have it any other way.”
It does irritate her that with fertility the focus is on a woman’s age when men can have babies at any age.
“Look at (actor) Cameron Diaz. People are saying: ‘Oh, she’s 51, why is she still having a child at that age?’ ” she said.
The latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics confirm Australian women are having fewer children, and having them later in life.
“Younger people might say ‘that won’t be me’, but you don’t know, circumstances change,” Ms Giampaolo said.
Dr Burmeister, the medical director of No.1 Fertility, says she sees “many Victorian woman over the age of 45” wanting to have babies with egg donors. Her clinic has helped to bring more than 7000 babies into the world in the past five years.
The Giampaolos turned to Dr Burmeister in 2020 after trying for eight years to have a baby and suffering the heartbreak of a miscarriage. Dr Burmeister says a patient review panel must provide approval for women over the age of 52, and most IVF couples settled for one or two babies.
“Usually they say lucky, because an IVF baby is a miracle baby, let’s face it,” Dr Burmenter said.
“Rosie’s had a full assessment with a high risk obstetrician, and she’s fit and healthy. Yes, there are risks having babies (for older mums) but we have 30-year-olds having risks. Pregnancy comes with risks.”
Dad Mr Giampaolo says his family is living the life it always wanted.
“People raise their eyes and think we are crazy, but we have friends having babies who are older than us, so to us we are not unique,” he said. Ms Giampaolo wants advocate for older mums.
“I want women over 50 to know they have the right have children,” she said.
robynley@news.com.au
