Real Housewives of Dubai star Caroline Stanbury got candid about the struggles of trying to have a baby at age 48.
Caroline is “undecided” whether or not she wants to try and get pregnant or use other means, such as surrogacy, to have a child with her husband, Sergio Carrallo, whom she married in December 2021.
“My doctor thinks that I may be able to carry one more child … and I also feel the healthiest I’ve ever been,” the Bravo star wrote in an essay for Today.com published on Friday, June 7. “[But] moving forward with having another baby is a difficult decision at my age.”
Caroline shares daughter Yasmine, 18, and twins Zack and Aaron, 14, with ex-husband Cem Habib. She knows Sergio, 29, will be “a great dad,” adding, “He deserves to be a father. And it could be fun! Maybe I’m better prepared to go back into the trenches now. I know exactly what to expect, so I won’t be so overwhelmed by it all.”
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While Caroline and Sergio are exploring all options, she shared that she battled preeclampsia, a complication resulting in persistent high blood pressure, during her past pregnancies.
“I had preeclampsia with all my children, and I got very sick with the twins,” Caroline explained. “My children are against me carrying a baby because of the health risks for me.”
Caroline and Sergio started the IVF process in 2022 and now have one embryo, which the reality star called a “baby boy on ice.”
“Knowing that there’s one embryo is exciting, but it’s also worrisome for Sergio,” Caroline wrote. “He’s thinking he’d like to do another round of IVF in January next year and try for another embryo or two.”
Caroline suggested to Sergio that they use an egg donor if another round of IVF was unsuccessful, explaining, “Which is a great option that works for many people — but that isn’t something Sergio would consider. He wants our baby to biologically belong to both of us.”
In addition to their ongoing conversation about IVF, Caroline revealed they are “looking for a surrogate.”
“I never thought I’d be in a position where I’m reading how to find another woman to carry my baby, and I’m trying to figure out what that would look like,” Caroline said. “What if she wants to live in another country? What if Sergio wants to rub her belly? There are a million questions that [I] don’t have answers to right now.”
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It isn’t lost on Caroline that she will pivot her life to focus on a newborn while raising her teenagers.
“Having a baby now would mean that while Yasmine is going to university, I’m about to go and look at nappies again,” Caroline quipped, adding that she ultimately wants to have a positive impact on others, “The one thing Sergio and I have given everybody is hope. I’m showing women that they can go on and start a whole new life — perhaps literally — at 48.”
