I CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE PARENTS of A

CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE PARENTS OF A CERTAIN AGE: A PODCAST FOR OLDER PEOPLE BECOMING FIRST-TIME PARENTS A graduate project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Master of Science in Counseling, Marriage and Family Therapy By Michael Randleman December 2014 i The graduate project of Michael Randleman is approved: ____________________________________ _______________ Dr. Ian Russ, Ph.D. Date ____________________________________ _______________ Anne Galbraith, M.A. Date __________________________________ _______________ Dr. Dana Stone, Ph.D., Chair Date California State University, Northridge ii DEDICATION Dedicated to my beautiful wife, Diane Goldner with whom, in February, 2013, I became a “parent of a certain age.” And to Max Elijah Randleman, who took a long time to get here, but we are so happy you came. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First, I would like to thank my committee members who guided this seed of an idea to its current incarnation. One could not have paid for better advice, guidance and support. I am truly blessed to have this triumvirate of knowledge and experience. The best decision I made when I first entered CSUN was one that I had no clue about at the time. Before starting I had to select an instructor for my Practicum A class. From a list of names of teachers of whom I had no knowledge of, I selected the newest faculty member in the department, Dr. Dana Stone. I can safely say that decision kept me going at times when I was questioning what I was doing in school at age 50 with a wife then three months pregnant. Without her compassion, encouragement and enthusiasm, I doubt I would have made it to the second semester. Dr. Stone was the only choice to chair this project and though the process was often rocky, (academic writing style being an anathema to me), through her hard work I feel the vision of the project became clearer and, more importantly, actionable. Next, I am honored that my first training supervisor Anne Galbraith of OPICA Adult Day Care Center agreed to be on my committee. I will always be indebted to her patience and kindness while I proceeded through the labyrinth of the DSS, holding my position open for the six months it took to get agency approval. My experience at OPICA under her tutelage was life-changing and I hope our paths cross often in my career as a therapist. Finally, there was another happy accident that I know was no accident; I landed in Dr. Ian Russ’ class the summer of my first year at CSUN. His knowledge, his vast and varied experiences in the field and his skill as a storyteller has made him an unacknowledged mentor to me. It is with great appreciation that I acknowledge the support and hard work of each member, without whom this project would not have been possible. Second, I would like to salute the fellow members of the CSUN 2012 co-hort. It was a wonderful ride and your support was invaluable to me. Your kindness, your help and excitement when my son was born during the second semester will never be forgotten. Your support and listening when later that year my father passed away will also never be forgotten. I would not have made it without you. In particular, I want to thank my fellow “Stoneys,” Amy K. (my first friend), Hovsep, Marianna, Laura R., Amy B, Kellie, Laura W. and Fabiola (who is the official photographer of Max Elijah. Her photos appear throughout this project). Finally, I want to thank my family. I can never give enough thanks to my wife, Diane. We did not go into this marriage six years ago knowing that my longtime publishing job would disappear and my acting work would dry up. A lesser woman would have bailed, with good reason. But she hasn’t and despite having to carry the financial ball for the family while writing books and having a baby, she is a rock. I also want to thank my mother, Diane Randleman who is always there for me and always encouraging me. I am glad she gets to play grandma with my child, something I never thought would happen. I am blessed with truly wonderful in-laws, Howard and Roslyn Goldner, who are always encouraging and generous with their love and support. To my sister, Julie Randleman, to whom I grow closer with each passing year. And, finally to my long-departed grandmother, Lillian Randleman, the town librarian of Rector, Arkansas for sixty-years. She instilled a love of learning and a love of books in me that has served me all my life. I love you all. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Signature page ii Dedication iii Acknowledgements iv Abstract vi Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Chapter 2: Review of the Literature 8 Chapter 3: Project Audience and Implementation Factors 53 Chapter 4: Conclusion 59 References 65 Appendix 86 v ABSTRACT PARENTS OF A CERTAIN AGE: A PODCAST FOR OLDER PEOPLE BECOMING FIRST-TIME PARENTS By Michael Randleman Master of Science in Counseling, Marriage and Family Therapy Between 2008 and 2012, the number of women over the age of 50 who gave birth doubled. While there have always been fathers of a certain age, Mother Nature put a biological time clock on motherhood. However, science is challenging Mother Nature these days with remarkable advances in the field of fertility. These scientific and medical developments (including in vitro fertilization (IVF) and the use of donor eggs) have opened “the baby window” that often closed for most women in their early-to-mid 40s and have created a whole world of old “new” parents. The purpose of this project was to create a podcast for these new parents to both entertain and keep them informed of the latest developments in this fast-changing area of society. Specifically, the podcast will provide relevant research concerning the topic of late-onset parenting as well as looking at the new societal and psychological impact these developments bring forth as these parents work to get their children out of diapers before they end up in diapers. vi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Alec Baldwin, Steve Martin, David Letterman. 55, 67, 56. Those numbers are not celebrity Q ratings measuring popularity. Those are the ages at which each became a father, either for the first time or, in the case of Baldwin, a return to fatherhood after a 22- year break. This is not an entirely new phenomenon, as Charlie Chaplin lived up to his Little Tramp character and fathered a baby at 74 and Tony Randall was one of an odd couple who had a child when he was 76. It should be noted that the partners of these men, the women who actually gave birth, were usually much younger. Unlike the biological time clock that Mother Nature placed on motherhood, a man has a shot (if he could shoot) to beat the biological clock up to the final buzzer of death. However, science is challenging Mother Nature these days and the roll call of Hollywood A-list women having babies while pushing the half-century mark is growing. In January of 2014, four-time Emmy award winner, Laura Linney gave birth to her first child just shy of her 50th birthday. She joined a growing list of Hollywood older moms giving birth who included Susan Sarandon (46), Halle Berry (47) and Kelly Preston (48, a.k.a. Ms. John Travolta). These celebrity moms could almost be called underachievers by giving birth to just a singleton. The list of older mothers having twins includes Beverly D’Angelo (age 49 with 65 year-old father Al Pacino), Holly Hunter (47), and Geena Davis (48). Jane Seymour, Marcia Gay Harden, and Marcia Cross all had twins at 45. But former swimsuit model and magazine cover girl, Cheryl Tiegs raised the age bar by having twins at 52. While celebrity mothers are often the face of this sociological shift, the numbers show the phenomena of older mothers (and older parents) are increasing across the 1 country. Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) for 2008, show birth rates dropping in the age brackets from teenagers to women in their thirties. The age bracket that is the exception to this downturn is the one age group that, biologically, should be dropping, or, at the most, staying steady (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2010). Contrarily, the numbers for women over the age of 40 were on the rise, with the 40-44-age bracket up over 4%, the highest rate since 1967 (Hamilton, Martin & Ventura, 2009). Additionally within this rising group is the growing number of first-time mothers. On the male side of the equation, the CDC reported that by 2009 2.9 of every 1,000 men who became new fathers were 50 or older and that the number is still climbing (Hamilton et al., 2009). Statement of the Problem What is usually unspoken, much to the consternation of fertility doctors whose offices are filled with women in their late-40s wanting to be the next Halle Berry, is the process used by many of the celebrity women of a certain age to realize their dreams of motherhood. The chances of a 44-year old woman conceiving with her own eggs is 1.6 percent (Klipstein, Regan, Ryley, Goldman, Alper, 2005). And since fertility experts say that becoming pregnant after the age of 45 using one’s own eggs is the equivalent of winning the lottery (Matthiessen, n.d.), it is almost certain that these celebrity mothers gave birth using donor eggs.

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