Michelle Bridges criticised for suggesting pregnancy success is due to ‘good health’

CELEBRITY trainer Michelle Bridges has been slammed for suggesting her pregnancy success at age 44 is due to her good health.

Nickelodeon Slimefest 2014 - Sydney: Media Wall

CELEBRITY trainer Michelle Bridges has been criticised for suggesting her pregnancy success at age 44 is due to regular exercise and healthy eating.

Last week The Biggest Loser trainer announced she was expecting a baby with partner Steve ‘Commando’ Willis, 39, in an interview with Who magazine.

“I feel very lucky,” she said. “But “I also feel all of my years and all of Steve’s years of looking after ourselves and taking care of our health and our bodies, it just goes to show. For someone my age for it to happen so quickly it’s obviously got to do with good health.”

While hundreds of Bridges’ fans congratulated the fitness mogul on Facebook, many also criticised her claims that falling pregnant later in life is easier if you’re fit and healthy.

The 12 Week Body Transformation founder, who is four months pregnant, was called “smug” and her comments labelled “the most uneducated crap I’ve ever heard” by fans of Who’s Facebook page.

“Being fit & healthy is not the reason why you got pregnant so quickly. There are plenty of women who are fitter and younger than you and struggle for years to have a baby.

“And there are others who eat junk and don't exercise and still get pregnant. Shows how ignorant you are,” one Facebook user wrote.

Another said, “I had my 1st child at 41 and there were plenty of pies & beers consumed prior to that. I might not have a 6 pack but was in a healthy weight range. If she had just left that bit alone advocating how healthy she was I might have said good on you & your eggs!”

Parke Lawyers’ Loretta Houlahan, who lectures Masters of Clinical Embryology students at Monash University and is a former embryologist, says lifestyle factors do play a role in a woman’s ability to fall pregnant.

“The healthier you are, the more likely you are to conceive,” she said. “However you can’t stop the ageing process.

“Although women over 40, even aged 44 like Michelle Bridges, can still conceive and fall pregnant, the chances are extremely low and there’s only so much you can do to offset that.

“These comments do give women false hope, as there is only so much you can do and ultimately it can come down to luck,” Ms Houlahan said.

A recent study by Spanish researchers found that the chances of women aged 44 and over having a baby through IVF were only 1.3 per cent.

At the time, the chairman of the British Fertility Society, Adam Balen told The Guardian: “Whilst you hear lots of good news stories about celebrities who may have given birth at an older age, nobody knows the number of celebrities who may not have been able to have babies, either because of infertility or possibly even having had fertility treatment that has been unsuccessful.”