Virginie Efira, pregnant at 46, talks about her pregnancy

Is there an age to be a mother? This is the question we could ask ourselves when Virginie Efira’s second pregnancy is made official, as she proudly displays it on the front page of the magazine. Telerama released on May 15, 2023, just as the controversial Cannes Film Festival kicks off.

Virginie Efira: “Having a child at my age has to do with hope”

After little Ali, born on May 24, 2013, from her relationship with director Mabrouk El Mechri, Belgian actress, who he just turned 46 on May 5, 2023 ,expect a baby with his partner Niels Schneider. Well aware that pregnancy at this age is rare, and therefore highly controlled, a fortiori when you are a person already covered by the media, Viriginie Efira has decided to tackle the topic head-on, without venting too much, with the magazine SHE who asked him how his first child experienced the news:

“Pregnant at 45…having a child at my age has to do with hope. We live in such a strange world. But I don’t want to answer on behalf of my daughter, I find she can already live well with an identified mother. »

Did Virginie Efira use PMA to get pregnant at 45?

It is not known whether the actress, expected in Cannes to present the films Nothing to loose (debut feature by Delphine Deloget, selected in the Un Certain Regard category), e love and forests (directed by Valérie Donzelli, adapted with Audrey Diwan from the novel of the same name by Éric Reinhardt, presented in the Cannes Premieres category), used Medically Assisted Procreation (MAP). That’s his business, but he might want to speak about it publicly, at a time when many people are still campaigning to expand access to ART (for transgender men, especially).

Note that in France the legal deadline for accessing it is set at 44 for women (and 59 for men). Beyond this limit, some women may decide to go abroad to make use of it, with their own oocytes that they would have previously frozen, or thanks to an oocyte or embryo donation (embryos subjected to in vitro fertilization but already pregnant can be up for adoption in Spain, Portugal, Denmark and France). Except that going abroad obviously comes with a cost that only the most privileged people can afford.

What is the age limit to enter ART for a woman in France or Belgium?

This age limit after which it is no longer possible to access a PMA in France has not always existed. Before the revision of the bioethics law that was supposed to open it up to all women, including lesbian and/or single women, it was just a matter of people” of childbearing age “. Since the entry into force of the new law in September 2021, medically assisted procreation can be carried out up to its 45^And birthday in a woman, unmarried or in a couple, destined to give birth (and up to 60 years of age^And birthday to the member of the couple who will not be carrying the child). We are therefore still far from access to PMA for all women in France.

In Belgium, where Virginie Efira comes from, there is also a legal limit for obtaining fertilisation in vitro (IVF) with own oocytes: 45 years (or even 43 if one hopes for reimbursement by the health funds). As regards the age limit for submitting a request for assisted reproduction with oocyte donation, it is 45 years (46 year anniversary date) and 47 years (48 year anniversary date) for the definitive transfer of embryos. It may be a mere coincidence, but Virginie Efira is therefore exactly the age limit.

Do you like our articles? You will love our newsletters! Sign up for free on this page.