She’s not over the hill, but she’s over the negative comments.
A Toronto mom who welcomed a baby at 50 says trolls tell her it’s “shameful” to be an older parent — but she feels “wiser” and “more immersed” in her son’s life than when she gave birth as a teen.
“I feel I broke free of confined expectations about what is possible at different ages,” Tatiana Kaplan, 54, told SWNS.
She knew immediately that she wanted to have a baby with her partner, Kenan Kaplan, 52 — they started trying a month after meeting, when Tatiana was in her late 30s.
Three years later with no success, the couple resorted to IVF. They spent about $73,000 on seven cycles, travel, hotel stays, and medication with no luck, and Tatiana was ready to give up hope.
The Kaplans went on a trip around Europe, and when they returned, Tatiana realized her period was late.
She discovered that she had become pregnant naturally — after 11 years of trying.
Tatiana had a smooth pregnancy — she walked up to 4 miles a day — and gave birth to her son, Mark Kaplan, now 4, via C-section.
The stay-at-home mom of two says she has grown “wiser through the years” and now can dedicate more time to her son.
Tatiana had her daughter, Katerina, 35, at 19 years old.
She remained single for a long time before meeting Kenan, who works in IT, in February 2007.
“We knew from the first days of our relationship that we wanted a family together,” Tatiana explained. “As I approached 39, nesting instincts stirred, and a dream of a child grew too strong to ignore.”
The pair struggled to conceive despite doctors telling them they were both completely healthy.
Tatiana swam often and ate a nutritious diet to help her conception chances but found nothing worked.
In October 2010, the couple decided to try IVF. Their final attempt was when Tatiana was 47.
“After 11 years of hoping and dreaming, along with seven failed IVF attempts working with top fertility clinics and two miscarriages, my hope of carrying my child was nearly gone,” Tatiana recalled.
“I asked the universe why my son hadn’t arrived yet and in a dream, he told me, ‘Mom, we will meet when the time is right,’” she continued.
The couple decided to take a road trip from Antalya, Turkey, to Montserrat, Spain, in the summer of 2018 to distract them from their disappointment.
In January 2019, it dawned on Tatiana that her period was late.
“I sprinted to get tested, praying silently for positive results,” she recounted. “When my husband showed me the paper saying, ‘You’re pregnant,’ I screamed so loudly the whole hospital heard.”
“I was blessed with the happiness and privilege of a natural pregnancy,” she gushed. “Isn’t it miraculous how motherhood found me after exhausting all options medically and being at the end of my journey?”
Tatiana had a smooth and active pregnancy — she credits practicing fertility yoga, eating healthy, and releasing negativity — but had a C-section as her son was in the breach position.
Mark was born at 6 pounds and 6 ounces on Sept. 18, 2019, at North York General Hospital in Toronto.
“As they placed him on my chest I cried tears of joy, telling him how we made it this far together and thanking him for his strength,” Tatiana described.
“Amazingly, just five hours post-op, I started walking through the halls and holding the wall for support,” she shared. “Some younger moms couldn’t get up yet.”
Tatiana says as a mom over 50, she embraces each parental moment with greater appreciation and presence — even as some have commented that late motherhood would be “shameful” in their cultures.
Giving birth as a 50-something woman is not unheard of — Janet Jackson did it in 2017 at age 50 — but it’s very rare.
“As a busy student and worker with responsibilities when my daughter was young, I sadly lacked the luxury of fully immersing myself in her wonder-filled early childhood,” Tatiana reflected.
“Over the past decades since becoming a teenage mother, I have sought to understand life’s deeper meanings and allow my soul to grow wiser through the years,” she added.
Tatiana loves inspiring other older women, moms, and parents-to-be with her story. She has nearly 20,000 followers on TikTok.
“I hoped to demonstrate to women that staying healthy and fit into their 50s, rather than early decline, is possible and important,” she emphasized.
