Congratulations are in order to Janet Jackson and her partner on the birth of their child. Janet Jackson is a first time mom at 50 years old. It is the greatest thing that can happen to any human being if you are healthy to do so, and the pregnancy is under conditions which are pleasant and risks to mom and child are at manageable levels and hopefully not life threatening. It can be a real joy to be a mother.

No one can determine for sure that the delivery will be safe. All possible safeguards against risks can be taken but from my perspective, pregnancy and delivery are almost miracles. So much can go wrong and bacteria can complicate things even in of all places the delivery space or from, guess whom the very health workers themselves.

Mothers have been known to die during child birth. Fetuses have been born premature and have died during this precious phase of the delivery.

High Risk

The undersigned has no known competencies in healthcare or specifically midrifry, but it appears to me that Janet Jackson’s pregnancy could without contradiction be classified as high risk.  Conventional science seem to inform us that after a certain age a woman’s biological clock has passed that magic hour. There have been exceptions must add, and we have read of them in South America and elsewhere.

Mongolism

The common empirical evidence as reported is Down Syndrome or a form of Mongolism which can affect the child. Also brain damage due to instruments used to extract baby from the womb as a result of weak or inoperative pelvic muscles. There has to be movement of the pelvic to accommodate this new development for the delivery of a baby. These muscles do the job of expelling or pushing out the baby at term during labour. Nature’s bulldozer, the pelvic muscle is either ineffective at older ages are broken, full stop.

Educational/Career Pursuits

It is no secret that the woman’s role has greatly evolved in this so called modern society. They are no longer confined to the home as traditional homemakers. Universities are graduating women 60+ percent to male 40 percent. They are catapulted to the board room due to improved education and shifting roles.  They are in many cases joint or sole breadwinner. The single mom phenomenon seem to be a new paradigm in this ever evolving view of family life.

Child bearing is therefore pushed back after further education or for career advancement. Different priorities than before, as is obvious, along with later start for having children. An uneducated single mom with little or no extended family or baby dad’s support is a disaster waiting to happen. The state may have to intervene and that opens a new door.

Extended Families

In the past there were families who mainly lived together under one roof or in close proximity. So extended family life gave good support to single moms … so a lot of problems are solved. In today’s reality families are living apart or independently, so family support is not readily or necessarily available as before. As a consequence children are brought up through day cares and baby sitters etc. and if a single mom and a absent father, she has to work to support self and child alone.

Same sex marriages has not made the formula less complicated. The traditional family values as we know them have changed like day to night. A re- education seem to be necessary to bridge the knowledge gap. It is almost indescribable the evolution of the new role of parents, so to speak.

Health Issues

Blood pressure issues, pelvic muscle strength concerns and other related issues,  for example, ovarian cancer are prevalent in older females.  Caesarian sections and premature births, seem to occur more in high risk pregnancies. Down Syndrome and Mongolism seem to affect more children born to females of older ages.  Young females usually have less birthing difficulties and better outcomes for child and mother,’s health in the long term.

As medical science and research improves there seem to be greater survival rates and better outcomes despite the high risks for pregnancies in older women.

We wish Janet Jackson, a first time mom at 50 years old, and her baby all the best.

Hopeton O’Connor-Dennie is senior international correspondent & photojournalist for vision newspaper.