#Advanced maternal age

[inevitablemoment]

Bigger Than The Whole Sky

"There's no way that I can be-- I'm almost forty-seven!" Ellen argued, looking to her husband. "Alex, tell her. We tried for years." Alex stayed silent, still very much in shock, but he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. Her eyes began to burn with tears, torn between wishing that this was some cruel joke and not knowing what she would do if it was. "Well, you're almost nine weeks along already," the doctor told her. "Besides the anemia, low blood pressure, and low blood sugar, everything else looks great..." The doctor continued on about "advanced maternal age" and possible complications, but Ellen was barely paying attention. Without any further thought, her other hand fell onto her belly. She felt this spark-- a jolt-- as if her own body was telling her that this was true. She and Alex were only a couple of years away from their fifties, and they were finally going to be parents.

When Alex and Ellen got married, they immediately began to try for a baby.

After over two decades years of trying, two miscarriages, numerous cycles of IVF, and a lot of heartache, they seemed to have resigned themselves to a childfree life and the roles of a doting aunt and uncle. They've traveled the world, grew in their careers, and have made peace with their lot.

But now, at the ages of 48 and 47, they may finally get their longstanding wish...

[gomamee]

Troubled by Early Pregnancy Symptoms? Try These Adjustment Methods!

It also touches on the importance of prenatal care and provides guidance for expectant mothers. Additionally, it discusses considerations for multiple pregnancies and advanced maternal age. Throughout the article, we will also highlight the significance of maternity clothing and introduce the GoMamee brand as a trusted provider of stylish and comfortable maternity wear.

1.How Can I Tell I Am Pregnant?

For women with a history of sexual intercourse and regular menstruation, it is recommended that pregnancy should be suspected for more than 10 days after menstruation. It can be determined by early pregnancy reaction, early pregnancy test paper, or blood hCG test, and you can also check ultrasound test after 6 weeks of menopause.

2.I Don't Know If I'm Pregnant, But I Had a Chest X-Ray For a Medical Checkup. Will It Affect My Child?

Within 2 weeks of fertilization, or 4 weeks of pregnancy, most drugs or medical examinations have an "all or nothing" effect on the embryo. If there is an effect, it may die, miscarry or stop developing. If the fetus survives, there is nothing to worry about; secondly, the radiation exposure dose from x-ray examination is much lower than the dose that is harmful to the fetus. Therefore, please do not easily give a death sentence to life.

3.What Should I Do If My Early Pregnancy Reaction Is Too Severe?

Anorexia and vomiting are relatively normal early pregnancy reactions. Pregnant mothers should self-regulate their diet, try to choose foods that promote appetite, are rich in nutrients and easy to digest, eat less and more meals, and also take some vitamin B6 to reduce the symptoms of pregnancy vomiting.

If you still have very serious pregnancy vomiting after self-regulation, even accompanied by weight loss, it is recommended to go to the hospital for liver function, blood electrolyte test and urine ketone body test, which may require hospitalization, intravenous supplementation of water, electrolytes and heat card, and at the same time, let the stomach and intestines rest.

4.Can I Eat Seafood During Pregnancy?

Yes. Seafood itself will not affect the fetus, but seafood may have parasites, so it is important to eat fresh, hygienic and cooked seafood.

5.Do I Need To Reduce The Fetus If The Ultrasound Examination Indicates a Triplet Pregnancy?

In general, it is recommended to reduce the fetus if there are three or more fetuses alive. In addition, there is a high risk of hypertensive disorders such as pre-eclampsia in late pregnancy and complications such as postpartum hemorrhage during delivery, which endanger the life of mother and child. The risk of decompensation is mainly to cause miscarriage and preterm delivery. Early reduction is generally recommended to reduce complications in the middle and late stages of pregnancy.

6.What Should I Pay Attention To When I Am Pregnant At An Advanced Age?

The age of delivery ≥ 35 years old is an advanced pregnancy. Because after women reach 35 years old, many aspects of their bodies start to go downhill relatively, and pregnancy at this time will increase the incidence of baby malformations; at the same time, the risk of intrauterine growth retardation, miscarriage and premature birth increases, and advanced pregnant women are prone to combined heart disease of pregnancy, gestational hypertension disease and gestational diabetes. Therefore, extra attention should be paid to pregnancy care, and regular prenatal checkups should be ensured.

In addition to the routine 11-13+6 weeks NT ultrasound and 20-24 weeks ultrasound for major abnormalities, amniocentesis for fetal chromosomes is recommended directly after 18 weeks of gestation for older pregnant women. If you are not willing to perform amniocentesis or have contraindications to amniocentesis, you can also choose a non-invasive DNA test first, but you should understand the limitations of non-invasive DNA tests.

7.Can I Have a Fetus With Thickened Nt Value? It Needs To Be Determined On a Case-By-Case Basis.

The thickness of NT value is directly proportional to the incidence of chromosomal abnormalities and can better evaluate the risk of trisomy 21, trisomy 18, trisomy 13, etc.; it is also associated with congenital structural malformation of the fetal heart, which is the most common cause of non-chromosomal abnormal NT thickening. Secondly, NT thickening is also associated with other structural malformations of the fetus: such as malformations of the skeletal system, diaphragmatic hernia, anterior abdominal wall defects (umbilical bulge), and fetal dyskinesia syndrome. In addition, thickened NT is also associated with spontaneous abortion, etc.

A completely normal fetus may also have thickened NT. When you get the result of NT thickening, please do not be overly nervous and upset, but go to the hospital on time. We have professional experts to help you further investigate the possible risks.

8.What Do I Need To Pay Attention To Now That I Am Pregnant With My Second Child After My First Child Was Delivered By a Cesarean?

It is appropriate to have another pregnancy after cesarean section with an interval of more than 2 years and less than 10 years. The shorter the interval, the greater the risk of uterine rupture in another pregnancy. Pregnant mothers with scarred uterus can first have an ultrasound examination to understand the location of the embryo in relation to the scar. If the embryo lays on the scar, it is considered a "scarred pregnancy" and is at higher risk of uterine rupture and hemorrhage. If the bed site is not in the scar, pregnancy can continue, but there is still a risk of uterine rupture during pregnancy, so it is recommended to strengthen perinatal health care regularly.

9.Can I Play With Cell Phones And Computers During Pregnancy?

Yes. The radiation dose of daily electrical appliances is very small and will not cause harm to the mother and fetus. The normal use of cell phones for phone calls has no effect on the fetus, but it is not recommended to play on cell phones for a long time. It is recommended to take a walk outdoors more often during pregnancy to relax, pay attention to rest more, develop good habits of life and rest, don't stay up late, avoid straining and do regular maternity checkups.

10.How To Supplement Folic Acid During Pregnancy?

In order to prevent fetal neural tube malformation, the demand for folic acid during pregnancy is high.

Experts recommend starting oral folic acid 0.4 mg as early as three months prior to pregnancy preparation. Women with a history of births with neural tube defects, as well as those with diseases affecting folic acid metabolism such as diabetes, epilepsy, or those found to have genetic defects that impair folic acid metabolism, need to increase their folic acid intake as prescribed by their doctors on a case-by-case basis.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this article provides valuable insights for expectant mothers, covering various aspects of pregnancy. It emphasizes the importance of timely pregnancy confirmation and regular prenatal care. Additionally, it highlights the significance of choosing appropriate maternity clothing, and the GoMamee brand stands out as a reliable option offering fashionable and comfortable options for expectant mothers. By considering the information presented here and selecting quality maternity clothing from GoMamee, pregnant women can enhance their comfort and style during this special time in their lives.

[haygourmet]

Gestational Diabetes

A million thoughts, wrapped in shame and fear. Hoping I can establish the best of habits to ensure the safety of my future kiddo and myself. I think I'll be posting here to help with my tracking.

[ejzah]

Me every time I hear the term “geriatric pregnancy”:

[lovevalley45]

i’m sorry but i’m laughing at maddie thinkin athena was gonna warn her off from a home birth bc of her age… girl she got married to a gay man bc she was worried she was gonna be too old to have kids i think she can’t judge

[twilit-tragedy]

I wish I could find a nice way of saying "I'm not passing on these genes" as well as "advanced parental age is a risk factor for XYZ in the next generation" to people who 1) share said genes, and 2) are having kids in their late 30s. Every time my family asks for my thoughts on having children and demography / natality in general, it feels like a minefield.

[revyvefertility-ivfcentre]

Pregnancy Risks and Complications Associated with Advanced Maternal Age

Many women are choosing to put off becoming mothers for different reasons, such as professional interests, personal goals, or simply not finding the right partner at the right time. But there's a higher chance of pregnancy problems when motherhood is postponed, especially if the complications are related to older mothers.

Advanced maternal age, typically defined as being 35 years of age or older at the time of delivery, presents unique challenges for women trying to conceive. While fertility declines with age due to factors such as decreased egg quality and quantity, the risks associated with pregnancy also rise. These risks include gestational diabetes, hypertension, pre-eclampsia, miscarriage, chromosomal abnormalities such as Down syndrome, and other pregnancy complications.

Revyve IVF understands the concerns and challenges faced by women of advanced maternal age who are trying to conceive. With a team of highly skilled fertility specialists, state-of-the-art technology, and a compassionate approach, Revyve IVF provides hope and solutions to overcome these challenges.

One of the primary services provided by Revyve IVF is in vitro fertilization (IVF), a procedure where eggs are retrieved from the ovaries and fertilized with sperm in a laboratory setting. This allows for greater control over the fertilization process and can be particularly beneficial for women with diminished ovarian reserve or other fertility issues related to advanced maternal age.

Revyve IVF provides preimplantation genetic testing (PGT), which can help identify chromosomal abnormalities in embryos before they are transferred to the uterus. This screening process significantly reduces the risk of miscarriage and increases the chances of a successful pregnancy, especially for women of advanced maternal age who are at higher risk for chromosomal abnormalities in their embryos.

This may include fertility medications, intrauterine insemination (IUI), or other assisted reproductive technologies to optimize the chances of conception.

Revyve IVF understands that emotional support is just as important as medical treatments during the fertility journey. Dealing with the stress and uncertainty of infertility can take a toll on mental well-being, especially for women navigating the complexities of advanced maternal age. That's why Revyve IVF provides counseling services and support groups to help patients manage emotional challenges and maintain a positive mindset on their fertility journey.

Revyve IVF takes a comprehensive approach to fertility treatment, focusing on lifestyle factors that can impact fertility and pregnancy outcomes. This may include guidance on nutrition, exercise, stress management, and other lifestyle modifications to optimize reproductive health and overall well-being.

It's important to note that while advanced maternal age does involve increased risks for pregnancy complications, it does not mean that pregnancy is impossible or unattainable. With the right support, guidance, and medical interventions, many women can overcome these challenges and achieve successful pregnancies later in life.

Revyve IVF stands as a beacon of hope for women facing the challenges of advanced maternal age and infertility. With their expertise, cutting-edge technology, and compassionate approach, they empower women to achieve their dreams of motherhood with confidence and optimism.

In conclusion, pregnancy risks and complications associated with advanced maternal age present significant challenges for women trying to conceive. Fertility centers like Revyve IVF provide specialized treatment and innovative solutions to overcome these challenges and help women achieve their dreams of motherhood with their comprehensive approach to fertility treatments, emotional support, and personalized treatment plans.

[ruthiesrambles2]

I hate whichever one of you cursed my brain with baby Pikelet but anyway "they're not fitting very well" in the baby episode of all places I'm so here for geriatric pregnancy Ruth

[hasansaad6413]

Dr. Mofor Clinic: Your Guide to The Ideal Age for Pregnancy || Best Age to Have a Baby

Are you pregnant and wondering when is the best age to have a baby? Dr. Mofor's Clinic has the answers! In this guide, we'll tell you everything you need to know about the ideal age to conceive, the best age to have a baby, and more. 

Dr. Mofor is here to tell you the latest information about the ideal age for pregnancies, and the best age to have a baby.

In this video, Dr. Mofor will share with you the latest information about the ideal age for pregnancies, and the best age to have a baby. He'll talk about the benefits of having a baby at different ages and the risks associated with each age group.

Thanks to Dr. Mofor's Clinic, you now have access to the most up-to-date information about pregnancy. Whether you're a first-time parent or a experienced one, this guide will help you make the best decision for your family! Thanks for watching!

🎥Click the link below to watch the full video on YouTube. Like share comment tell us what you think: https://youtu.be/DlUCPMPLdzI

Follow us on Website: https://drmoforclinic.com/

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[sinofwriting]

Insane Person - Max Verstappen (I ❤️ MILFS verse)

Words: 667 Summary: Max wants to be sure he can give Pan kids. (Part of the I ❤️ MILFS verse) Note(s): Takes place during the original I ❤️ MILFS fic, before Max finds out Pan’s age. Max is insane btw, this has been a blurb idea since I wrote the original fic and finally it has been written so enjoy, lol.

Masterlist | Support Me! | I ❤️ MILFS verse

“I’d love to give Logan a sibling or two.”

The words so soft had made his heart speed up as soon as he heard them and now thinking about them, letting them play on repeat.

It’s early in their relationship, though they haven’t yet talked about it yet, no matter how much Max is dying to do so. But Max wants to be the one that she gives Logan siblings with.

Which is why he’s sitting in front of his computer and looking at medical studies.

A lot of it is going over his head. The most schooling he sat through was the first four or five years of it. He can grasp engineering, anything to do with cars and their data, but medical terminology goes over his head.

He powers through, he doesn’t know Pan’s exact age, his mother would smack him over the head if he even thought to ask her age, but she’s got to to be mid to late thirties if not early forties considering Logan is twenty.

The studies say she’d be fine getting pregnant, shouldn’t have trouble conceiving, and his cheeks burn at the word, at the image it puts in his mind. They haven’t quite got their, but they’ve gotten close. They throw out the term geriatric pregnancy which makes him flinch because forty wasn’t old, at least not if you weren’t a driver and to see it be called something like that felt harsh, rude. Another one calls it advanced maternal age which really isn’t any better, but it’s just relieving to see that’s still possible. And then a study mentions that if people are having trouble conceiving that not only does the person birthing need to get checked, but both do and a new panic takes over his brain.

What if when it came time to try, he was the problem? It would really be his luck. Things had been going very well for the past few years, it would be his luck that he couldn’t give the woman he loves more kids.

And Logan wanted siblings, the panic grows as he remembers Logan chiming in that he’d love some siblings. Oh god, what if he failed in giving Logan siblings? He wanted the younger driver to like him, to really like him.

His fingers act quickly, wanting to know how he can know if he can have kids and the results make him blink because it couldn’t be that easy.

He just had to provide a sample in a cup?

Max’s brain struggles to compute that after just reading everything that women have to go through to get their fertility checked.

His hand goes to his phone, he rarely if ever called his doctor, but this was important.

He goes through the motions of confirming he is who he is, wondering how weird it must be for other people to do this for him before he finally gets asked why for the purpose of the appointment.

“I want to check to see if I can have kids.”

“Okay, are you and your partner having trouble conceiving?”

His cheeks burn, “We aren’t trying yet. I just want to make sure that it’s possible on my end.”

“Okay, it’s a simple procedure at our clinic and we could see you in the next three days if that works for you at any time we are open.”

“That’s perfect.”

“Alright, we’ll see you in a few days, Mr. Verstappen.”

He gets the results back five days after his appointment, an email sitting in his inbox, and he forces himself to take a deep breath before finally opening it.

There are words he doesn’t know, ones he doesn’t really want to think about, but there at the end, a note from his doctor that says everything looks great, and he shouldn’t have troubles getting someone pregnant and his fist goes in the air, a quiet but excited yes leaving him.

He could give Logan siblings and Pan more kids, thank fuck.

[woso-dreamzzz]

Carnival

Mary Earps x Child!Reader

Summary: Mary takes you to the carnival

Lockdown was both the bane of Mary's existence and the best thing in the world.

The worst thing because it meant confusion and fear and no football for a while. The best thing because it brought her you.

She fostered at first before moving to adoption when she found that she couldn't be parted from you.

With the lockdowns tentatively over now, things had started opening up again.

Like the carnival.

"They're rigged," You tell her.

You're still little but you speak well for your age, well advanced when compared to any of your peers.

"Rigged?" Mary laughs," Where've you heard that word?"

"I read it," You say," In a book."

"Oh. I forgot I was taking a genius out."

You make a little noise of acknowledgement before turning back to the carnival game.

It's most definitely rigged.

All of them are.

This one is one of those basketball toss games where you know the ring is only just wide enough for the ball to get through. If the throw isn't perfect then it'll hit the rim and bounce away.

Mary is looking at it with concentration though and you snag her belt loops, tugging lightly.

You hadn't meant to stop in the first place but you'd caught sight of one of the prizes.

One shot in got you a keychain.

Two shots got you a little inflated ball.

Three in meant the prize was a small toy.

Four was a medium sized toy.

Five was a big toy.

The big toys are displayed at the very top of the game. A lot of them a bears or big puppies but a handful of them are birds. They're in lots of different colours.

Yellow seems to be the most prominent colour but then it's pink. The one that caught your eye is blue though.

You like the look of it a lot but you also know the odds of winning it are slim to none.

Five perfect shots in a row is very difficult especially when the backing board behind the hoop is angled at a way that means if the ball hits it, it won't go into the hoop in the slightest.

"Mary," You say, tugging," Let's go."

Mary doesn't move though. "You want the bird?"

"Yes."

"Then let's try."

"No."

"You don't even want to try?"

You shake your head, scuffing your foot into the dirt. "It's not worth it, Mary."

"Would it make you happy though?"

"Yes."

"Then let's try."

"But-"

"Come on, birdie," Mary says," We'll try a few rounds and if we get it, we get it but if not that's fine too."

It costs five pounds for five balls and Mary fails abysmally for her first round.

It stokes something in her though, especially when your eyes dart away from the toy with every missed shot.

You've had a rough go of it, Mary thinks as she pays for another few rounds. Before her, you'd had a failed adoption. The couple had wanted you but then the wife had gotten pregnant and they realised what they actually wanted was a biological child.

It had fallen through and you'd bounced for a few days before being fostered by Mary.

She'd worked hard with you on understanding that she wasn't going to abandon you. She'd worked hard to get you to accept her as a maternal role in your life.

But that illusive word still evaded her.

She didn't need it, not truly. She knew what you thought of her and you knew what she thought of you.

She'd do anything for your happiness, including draining her bank to win you this stupid blue bird.

Your eyes had lit up when you'd seen it but you seemed fairly realistic for such a little kid.

These games were rigged but Mary refuses to let that stop her.

You want this stupid bird.

She'll get you this stupid bird.

Her hands are sweaty as she grabs her last ball. The others, surprisingly, have all gone in after nearly fifteen rounds of this stupid carnival game and it slowly dawns on her that this is the last shot.

She wipes her hands on her shirt.

"Mary?" You say and she looks down at you," Are you okay?"

"I'm just fine, birdie. One last shot and we can get your bird."

You glance down bashfully, fingers still threaded around her belt loop. "It's okay if you can't make it. We can go on the teacups instead."

Mary frowns, dropping to her knee so she can cradle your cheek in one of her big hands. "You don't want the bird?"

"I do," You say," But...I don't want you to feel bad if you can't get it in."

"Trust me," Mary says," I just want to make you happy."

You look into her eyes, searching for any hint of untruthfulness in them but you find none. You nod. "You should move slightly to the left," You say," And spread your fingers out a little more."

"Thanks, birdie."

She does as you've said and shoots.

The ball goes in and Mary breathes out a sigh of relief, already leaning over the counter to talk to the poor minimum wage worker that's had to sit through all her attempts.

"Yeah," She says," The bird. The blue one. Up top. Yeah, that one."

He has to get a big stick with a hook on the end to get it off and Mary takes it from him triumphantly.

She presents it to you and you gently stroke your hand over the fur.

She's still holding it but you bypass your new favourite toy completely, moving to hug her as tightly as you can.

"Thank you, Mummy."

Mary tries not to let you finally saying the 'm' word affect her, forcing back the tears that want to fall as she hugs you back, raining kisses onto the top of your hair.

"It was my pleasure, birdie."

[sideprince]

Eileen Prince

I'm relentlessly curious about how a witch from Slytherin, a house that values cunning and ambition on paper, and bloodlines/nobility in its culture, ended up living in a muggle slum.

Unfortunately for me, she's a barely mentioned character written by an author who consistently fails to portray female characters with depth or dimension. The women in Harry Potter are portrayed as either maternal or villains, or, in Ginny Weasley's case, as redeemed by their masculine traits (because Rowling's Thatcher era feminism dictates that equality for women = emulating patriarchal ideas of manhood). About as much as you can expect from an author who's as unable to acknowledge the personhood of trans women as she is to write women as actual people. This leaves a lot of room for interpreting or delving into what Eileen Prince's life may have looked like, and how that would have affected her son's development.

There are three direct mentions of Eileen in the text :

“The picture showed a skinny girl of around fifteen. She was not pretty; she looked simultaneously cross and sullen, with heavy brows and a long, pallid face. Underneath the photograph was the caption: Eileen Prince, Captain of the Hogwarts Gobstones Team.”

HBP Ch. 25

“I was going through the rest of the old Prophets and there was a tiny announcement about Eileen Prince marrying a man called Tobias Snape, and then later an announcement saying that she’d given birth to a" “ — murderer,” spat Harry.

HBP ch. 30

“Harry looked around: he was on platform nine and three-quarters, and Snape stood beside him, slightly hunched, next to a thin, sallow-faced, sour-looking woman who greatly resembled him.”

DH Ch. 33

(Shoutout to Harry James Potter, who didn't recognize Eileen's fifth year photo despite her resemblance to Snape, the teacher whose classroom he got his used Potions book from. Shoutout also to Harry James Potter who didn't connect the dots between the Prince's handwriting and Snape's, a teacher who regularly wrote instructions on the board. "I needed to make the plot work, ok?" - JK Rowling, probably.)

Other relevant excerpts:

“Snape staggered - his wand flew upwards, away from Harry - and suddenly Harry’s mind was teeming with memories that were not his: a hook-nosed man was shouting at a cowering woman, while a small dark-haired boy cried in a corner ”

OoTP Ch. 26

“Harry delved into his trunk and pulled out his copy of Advanced Potion-Making before getting into bed. There he turned its pages, searching, until he finally found, at the front of the book, the date that it had been published. It was nearly fifty years old.”

HBP Ch. 16

Supplemental material re: Gobstones from JK Rowling:

"...it remains a minority sport within the wizarding world, and does not enjoy a very ‘cool’ reputation, something its devotees tend to resent. Gobstones is most popular among very young wizards and witches, but they generally ‘grow out’ of the game, becoming more interested in Quidditch as they grow older.  ... Gobstones enjoys limited popularity at Hogwarts, ranking low among recreational activities, way behind Quidditch and even Wizarding Chess." [There's an additional sentence on the Harry Potter wiki's Gobstones page: "...it is also known as 'the thinking wizard's Quidditch.'"]

A few conclusions can be drawn from what little information we're given about Eileen:

She's described as "cross and sullen" around the age of 15, and as "sallow-faced, sour-looking" when she's older.

She's captain of the Gobstones club around her fifth year, so she likely marched to the beat of her own drum - given that Gobstones isn't particularly popular - and owns it proudly enough to take, or even seek out, a leadership role.

The sport is described as "the thinking wizard's Quidditch" which would imply Eileen was more interested in intellectual challenges and was clever (and can be paralleled with a young Severus' comment about "if you'd rather be brawny than brainy" to James Potter when they first meet on the Hogwarts Express).

Her marriage and the birth of her son are both announced in the paper, which might mean the family she came from was of some importance or note, or perhaps something else... but we'll get to that.

If we assume that Severus' secondhand copy of Advanced Potion Making was originally Eileen's (reasonable, though there is no textual evidence) then its publication date is likely around the time she was a sixth year, given that this particular text was specific to students beginning to prep for N.E.W.T. exams. Harry begins his sixth year in 1996 when the book is "nearly fifty years old," so we can assume Eileen was 16 years old sometime not long after 1946. Severus was born in 1960, which would mean Eileen was in her mid-late 20s at the time.

Her marriage was dysfunctional at best, abusive at worst. As per a Pottermore post that is still up on WizardingWorld.com: "...the desperately lonely and unhappy childhood [Severus] had with a harsh father who didn’t hold back when it came to the whip." Based on this, we can assume Tobias was abusive, and given Eileen's cowering as he shouted at her, she presumably feared him.

From these bits of information emerges the image of a woman who either had a surly personality, or at the very least was guarded, though perhaps just formal. There isn't really any difference in how her face is set when she's in an everyday setting like King's Cross, or when she's having her picture taken for the Gobstones Club. It's possible she was a stern, unsmiling person, but it's also possible - given that her wedding and child were announced in the paper - that she came from a family of some standing and was raised to conduct herself with hallmarks of British class, such as dignity and unaffectedness. After all, there are several wizarding families - such as the Potters - who are wealthy purebloods with social standing but are not part of the Sacred 28. Additionally, the Gobstones Club portrait would have been taken around the mid-1940s, when portraits were formal and their subjects did not often smile, and given that we see only a snippet of Eileen, we don't have enough information that she was unhappy or sour. It's also important to remember that we see her portrait and Snape's memory of her through Harry's perspective and, like his perception of Snape himself, this may convey Harry's biases.

We also know from the text that Snape had a house in a deserted part of Cokeworth, a fictional Midlands town that presumably had a collapsed milling industry, at the end of a street called Spinner's End. There's a great thread that goes into details about the kind of 2 up 2 down house it would have been, and we can assume that this is Snape's family home given that we know he and Lily grew up in Cokeworth. For all intents and purposes, the conclusion we can draw from this being the Snape family's home in the 60s is that they were working class and cripplingly poor. Most estates like this had been cleared by the 60s, and no longer exist today.

This begs the question: how did a witch from a possibly well-off family end up in an abusive marriage in an irrelevant slum?

Buckle up kids, we're leaving the world of textual references and veering into deep meta territory now. I won't label any of this as head canon because I'm not set on these interpretations, and am just drawing conclusions from the text, but some of it may be a bit loose even for meta.

If Eileen was 16 years old not long after 1946, then she would have finished school in the late 40s, possibly even 1950. While some people (including past me) posit the theory that Tobias may have been injured in WWII and his injuries debilitated him, forcing him to go on the dole and affecting his mental health, I'm increasingly skeptical of this theory. It would make more sense if Eileen had known him before he was drafted/enlisted and had committed to a relationship with him, which would then have changed when he came back from the war and was altered. If we assume Eileen's age based on the idea that it was her own copy of Advanced Potion Making Severus used, then she would still have been at school during WWII (which makes an interesting parallel with Severus' own experience of spending the bulk of the first wizarding war against Voldemort as a student at school).

I do think, however, that there's merit in the theory that Tobias suffered some kind of altering injury and that he wasn't necessarily abusive before Eileen committed herself to him. It makes little sense for a Slytherin graduate who was confident and self-posessed enough to be the face of an unpopular club to be drawn to a partner so abusive his shouts caused her to cower and who whipped his child freely. If, however, he was a charming, happy man when they met who suffered a life-altering injury, the trauma of which left him a shell of his former self, then someone like Eileen might stick around for the sake of the parts of his old self she can still see in him.

It's interesting that she didn't seem to use her magic to protect herself or her son, or even to dress her son in clothing that fit, but we know from the text that depression can cause a wizard's powers to wane:

“...it is also possible that her unrequited love and the attendant despair sapped her of her powers; that can happen”

HBP Ch. 13 (Dumbledore talking about Merope Gaunt)

The fact that the Snapes retained the house in Spinner's End seems to indicate that they continued to live there even when the local industry dried up and the slum was cleared as workers were moved to other parts of the country where they were needed (presumably what happened given *gestures at British history*). The most likely explanation for this would be that Tobias wasn't able to work, and perhaps did suffer an injury, only it was at work, and not during the war. This would mean the family lived on the dole (ie. welfare) and also that he would have spent a lot more time at home. It would also explain his anger and frustration that led to abusive behavior (which isn't to say that disabled people are abusive by any means, but it would have been emasculating for a man who considered himself the breadwinner in the 60s, and chronic pain coupled with limited abilities would give anyone a short fuse).

Moreover, this living situation seems to indicate that there is no additional support coming from anywhere. Where is Eileen's family? Why were they not helping? There's no indication in the text that there is any connection with them at all. We can infer from Snape's memories that, as a child, he learned what he knew about the magical world from his mother. This implies that she talked to him about it a fair amount, and his conviction that he and Lily were going to Hogwarts well before they got their letters also implies that Eileen expected him to go there and was set on her son having a magical education, despite how little she seemed to use her own powers.

Severus knows a lot about the wizarding world as a child, including that prisoners are sent to Azkaban and that it's guarded by Dementors, Hogwarts' house structure and what to expect when he and Lily get there, and about the Statute of Secrecy and the laws around it. When Lily asks him if it makes a difference being Muggleborn, Severus hesitates before replying no, presumably because he's aware of pureblood bias being a part of wizarding culture.

Perhaps that's the reason Eileen's family doesn't seem to be in the picture. My own theory is that Eileen hadn't planned to commit herself to Tobias long-term, and Severus was an accidental outcome of an innocent tryst in which a young Eileen, an educated witch from a well to do pureblood family, was having fun slumming it with a working class muggle and ended up pregnant. While we don't know the wizarding world's attitude around pregnancy and abortion, we do know it's a conservative and classist society that parallels muggle British culture fairly closely, and that the late 50s/early 60s were a time when an out of wedlock baby would have been considered a disgrace.

Add to that the anti-muggle bias of a pureblood family and it sounds like Eileen was disowned her for her mistake (and don't @ me, but even though I know that not all Slytherins are purebloods, it does seem to be a persistent cultural value of the house reaching back to Salazar Slytherin himself, so Eileen's being sorted into it can reasonably be taken as an indication of her blood status). Perhaps the marriage and birth announcements in the Daily Prophet were put in by Eileen herself, if she was a woman from a family where this was customary. It may have been her way of letting her family know of the events, or even of asserting herself and even deliberately defying them, announcing to the whole wizarding world that a Prince married and had a child with a muggle. It makes sense that the girl who wasn't just in the Gobstones club, but became captain, would also say to herself, why shouldn't I have my marriage announced in the paper like everyone else in the family?

It's worth noting that mid-late 20s is pretty young to have a baby in the wizarding world, where the life expectancy and child bearing years are much longer than they are for a muggle. According to the Harry Potter wiki:

"Wizard life expectancy in Britain reached an average 137¾ years in the mid-1990s, according to the Ministry of Divine Health ... Wizards in general have a much longer life expectancy than Muggles, usually living two or three times as long as their non magical counterparts, some living even longer than that depending on circumstances. In addition, seeing as James Potter's parents had him "late in life,” witches likely have significantly longer childbearing years than Muggle women."

Although we see several characters in Severus' generation getting married and having kids not long after leaving school, there's a mention in the text that a lot of people were doing this during Voldemort's reign, as the fear he inspired made people more eager to get a move on with life since they thought they might die any day (I think Mrs. Weasley says this but I can't find the quote, @ me if you do). It's clear this wasn't the norm in the wizarding world. Eileen was a Slytherin, a house that values cunning, ambition, and strong wizarding heritage. Something must have gone very wrong in Eileen's life for her to end up having a child so young and living in a muggle slum.

And so it's possible Eileen Prince found herself pregnant and alone, having been disowned by her family to save face in light of her disgrace, and dependent on the only person she was still close to, the father of her child. It's the kind of storyline that Rowling would write, and it would parallel fairly closely the story of Voldemort's mother, thus adding another to the long list of similarities between Voldemort and Snape.

Lorrie Kim makes an interesting point when she talks about how Snape has a strong reaction to other people having a love life or romantic experiences (the context being Rowling's intention of his love for Lily being romantic and unrequited), but doesn't react particularly strongly to mothers sacrificing themselves for their children, whereas Voldemort does. Her insight, and I think it's a reasonable one, is that Severus accepts the idea of mothers making sacrifices for their children, whether it's Lily giving her life for Harry or Narcissa risking all she did to ask for his help in protecting Draco, because his own mother protected him from his father as much as she could.

There's a lot of room for interpretation on what Eileen's relationship with her son looked like, and what it says about her own state. She may have prioritized not angering Tobias to protect Severus, who as a child might have perceived her actions as a form of rejection. At the same time, she seems to have prepared him thoroughly for life in the magical world, perhaps in the hope that he would find his place in it and escape home. Perhaps she missed it and told him so much about it so she could live through her own memories.

The only time we see her argue with Tobias, in Severus' memory, she's cowering as he shouts. We know from JK Rowling that Tobias used corporal punishment liberally, which implies Eileen didn't stop him despite her magical abilities. We also see in the text, however, that while at school Severus stood up for himself against bullies and fought back, and that he was an exceptionally clever and powerful wizard. As an adult he was brave enough to face Dumbledore when he betrayed Voldemort, and later fought against Voldemort right under his nose (or lack thereof). So it stands to reason that at some point Severus began to stand up against Tobias too.

How much of that was Eileen's influence, or the result of Severus seeing her acceptance of her fate and rejecting it for himself, is hard to say. As for what happened to Tobias and Eileen that their house was Severus' by the mid-90s and they were nowhere in sight, I don't think there's enough information in the text to infer.

[ts3-rauh]

JohnnySims' Philip Hairstyle converted for TS3

Thanks to @johnnysimmer for this awesome hairstyle

ALL CREDITS GO TO JOHNNYSIMS, I ONLY CONVERTED IT

ORIGINAL TS4 HAIRSTYLE

Sorry for absence, I was stollen by Infinity Nikki :D

Sending hi to @nectar-cellar, because they had this hairstyle in their to-do list and kindly passed it to me

For this one I made two versions: with kind of texture edit and EA controls I normally do, and alternative - a bit darker and with 3 colour channels (roots, base and ends), which resembles original clay-texture more

✦LOD0: 9.5 K poly

✦LOD1: 6.5 K poly

✦LOD2: 3.3 K poly

✦LOD3: 200 poly

✦Both genders, all ages

✦Fixed pigtail glitch when sims are aging up and change hairstyle. In merged version I also connected all age stages

✦Control map (EA for first version, custom with 3 channels for alternative)

✦Custom thumbnails (also in archives)

✦For the first version I lowered texture's contrast and made it lighter, just to make it look more "ts3-ish"

✦Not valid for random

✦Valid for maternity for both female and male

DOWNLOADS (SFS)

EA control map | Alternative

Please, consider supporting the creator of the original.

If you find any issues - please contact me.

cc from picture:

cerberus eye replacement | skin by swirlgoodies | makeup - pralinesims | male shirt - bukovka

@xto3conversionsfinds, @ts4-ts3hair, @pis3update, @gifappels-stuff, @simstifulccfinds, @wanderingsimsfinds thank you in advance if you'd reblog

[ovaruling]

i am so sick of this

there is an established relationship between advanced age of the father and risks to the mother, to the pregnancy, to the fetus, and later to the child.

older men’s ticking biological clocks are harmful. their ages literally compound the dangers to women and to the children they have. increased age of fathers is related to things like gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, and preterm birth, just to make a few. later health and mental problems have been observed in children of older fathers.

the number of older fathers is increasing. men feel entitled to father children well into elderliness. men also tend to seek out young women with which to have these children. the maternal mortality rate in the U.S. is currently the highest it has been since the 1960s. abortion rights in the U.S. are in extreme peril. this altogether makes the risk to women who reproduce w/ older men much, much greater.

i think we as a society need to start talking about this a bit.

screenshots of additional NYT article under the cut because i couldn’t figure out how to link without the paywall.

[thatsonemorbidcorvid]

“The women leaders in our study were considered too young or too old. They were too short or too tall, too pretty or too unattractive or too heavy. They had too much education or not enough or their degrees were not from the “right” schools. They suffered from disrespect and misperceptions due to race, color, or ethnicity. Whether they had children or were childless, the women were expected to work harder than men to prove their worth. Women were held back from leadership opportunities due to being single, married, or divorced. There was no personality trait sweet spot, as introverted women were not seen as leaders and extraverted women were viewed as aggressive. The effect, then, means women leaders are “never quite right.””

Full text under cut

https://www.fastcompany.com/90889985/new-research-reveals-critiques-holding-women-back-from-leadership-that-most-men-will-never-hear

A recent study of the 33 biggest multilateral institutions found that of 382 leaders in their history only 47 have been women. And the percentage of women running Fortune 500 companies has only just recently crested a meager 10%.

As researchers we wondered why institutions consistently fail to promote women to top jobs. Our recent study of 913 women leaders from four female-dominated industries in the U.S. (higher education, faith-based nonprofits, law, and healthcare) sheds light on this pernicious problem. As we found, there’s always a reason why women are “never quite right” for leadership roles.

Women are criticized so often and on so many things that they are acculturated to receiving such disparagement, taking it seriously, and working to make improvements. And any individual woman may take it personally, believing the criticism directed at her to be warranted.

But our research reveals that the problem lies elsewhere. Virtually any characteristic can be leveraged against a woman in a discriminatory fashion. Such criticisms often relate to facets of women’s identity in an overt or subtle way, such as race, age, parental status, attractiveness, and physical ability.

Effectively, the surface-level critique functions as a “red herring,” distracting from the inherent gender bias driving the encounter. This type of treatment is so common that we have called it “we want what you aren’t” discrimination.

More specifically, our research revealed 30 different characteristics and qualities of a woman’s identity that emerged as points of criticism creating barriers to women’s success. The clear message to women is that—whatever they are—they are “never quite right.”

Age was a consistent challenge for women leaders in our study. Some of our respondents reported being considered too young to lead, while others indicated being too old hindered them from advancing.

However, being middle-aged didn’t help women’s career prospects either. A physician shared: “I am middle-aged, and men my age are seen as mature leaders and women my age as old.”

Parental status—having children or being childless—emerged as another point of criticism. A higher-education leader described how people assume she “can’t take on a bigger role ‘because of the kids,’” which made her feel that she needed “to work extra hard” to show that she could be both a dedicated mother and a leader.

On the other hand, a childless physician was expected to “work harder/more, accomplish more” than other female colleagues. Mothers were also bypassed for career opportunities, as happened to a single divorced lawyer who was the mother of preschoolers, “due to a perception by my male bosses that I cannot or should not handle [larger matters].”

Likewise, pregnancy was problematic, particularly for lawyers in our study. There was doubt that women would come back to work after maternity leave. Some were no longer given good assignments, while others were forced to quit private practice or work part time. One lawyer described the loss of confidence from bosses:

“Once you are pregnant or trying to have kids, the way management views you deteriorates. The opposite thing happens for male coworkers. I’ve seen it in so many law firms it’s impossible to argue it was just coincidence or based on merit.”

Simply planning on having kids was enough to invoke bias. A woman in higher education reported being denied promotion because she would need maternity leave for hypothetical future children.

Women of color were targets of subtle bias. An African American faith-based leader described being “invisible” and regularly “talked over” by white men. A Native American higher-education executive described being misperceived as weak, “when in fact we are practicing ‘respect’ for ourselves and others.” And a Filipina physician described facing role incredulity, as people assumed that she was “a nurse, and not a doctor and a division chief at that.”

Even physical ability and health played into the women’s experiences. Physical disabilities led to assumptions of not being capable. One higher-education leader who uses a crutch was questioned by men about the way she walks and has been told “to hide my cane, especially for photographs,” as she said.

Regarding health, there were double standards around the way men and women with illnesses were treated. A physician developed ovarian cancer while serving as an officer in the public health service. She explained, “The plan was to discharge me . . . even though men with prostate cancer didn’t have to go through that.”

The women leaders in our study were considered too young or too old. They were too short or too tall, too pretty or too unattractive or too heavy. They had too much education or not enough or their degrees were not from the “right” schools. They suffered from disrespect and misperceptions due to race, color, or ethnicity. Whether they had children or were childless, the women were expected to work harder than men to prove their worth. Women were held back from leadership opportunities due to being single, married, or divorced. There was no personality trait sweet spot, as introverted women were not seen as leaders and extraverted women were viewed as aggressive. The effect, then, means women leaders are “never quite right.”

Organizations that fail to promote and support women in their top roles miss out on performance gains. Fortunately, there are concrete steps that organizational leaders, allies, and individual women can take to mitigate this “never quite right” bias, aiding women’s workplace advancement.

“Flip it to test it”

Leaders can be particularly effective in thwarting sexist criticisms toward women. It’s not about changing the behavior of women—who are the recipients of the unfair treatment—but it is about changing the behaviors of those who justify their actions as somehow merited. Many criticisms fail the “flip it to test it” method miserably. Ask yourself, would the following statements ever be said about a man?

He needs to smile more.

Men are going to have kids and not want to work.

Since Larry has prostate cancer, he can no longer fulfill his job duties.

The clear answer is no. Leaders can infuse awareness of this simple, yet effective, tool to reduce such bias-laden criticisms. And workplace allies can help stop unfair criticism of women by calling it out.

Constructive career-enhancing feedback

Women are almost one and a half times more likely to receive negative feedback that is subjective rather than constructive and objective feedback. Men are often given a clearer idea of where they excel and opportunities for improvement whereas women are given vague feedback that often focuses on qualities like communication style. Even when using formal performance evaluation rubrics, a disparity remains.

Developmental feedback to women focuses on operational tasks, coping with politics, developing resilience, being cooperative, and building confidence. Developmental feedback to men focuses on setting a vision, leveraging power and politics, being assertive, and displaying confidence. Leaders can reduce the gender-biased framing by encouraging all employees to develop both sets of skills.

Do not take it personally

For individual women, hear us when we say, “It’s not you.” We women are conditioned to accept feedback and internalize it as something to “fix” about ourselves. If you are criticized, consider whether it is objective, constructive, and warranted. Disregard identity-based criticisms that are part of a larger pattern of bias against women.

Our research demonstrates that practically any characteristic can be proclaimed problematic for a woman leader to question her competence and suitability for leadership. It takes deliberate effort, but we can turn the message to women from “We want what you aren’t” into “We want what you are.” Doing so will advance women in the workplace and profit the entire organization.

Amy Diehl, PhD, is chief information officer at Wilson College and a gender equity researcher, speaker, and consultant. She is coauthor of Glass Walls: Shattering the Six Gender Bias Barriers Still Holding Women Back at Work.

Leanne M. Dzubinski, PhD, is acting dean of the Cook School of Intercultural Studies and associate professor of intercultural education at Biola University, and a prominent researcher on women in leadership. She is coauthor of Glass Walls: Shattering the Six Gender Bias Barriers Still Holding Women Back at Work.

Amber L. Stephenson, PhD, is an associate professor of management and director of healthcare management programs in the David D. Reh School of Business at Clarkson University. Her research focuses on how professional identity influences attitudes and behaviors and how women leaders experience gender bias.