Dateline's Andrea Canning on what it was like to give birth at 46 (2024)

Andrea Canning has opened up about giving birth to her sixth child— and first son— at the age of 46 with the help ofin vitro fertilization.

The Dateline correspondent and her husband,USMC Lieutenant Colonel Tony Bancroft, welcomed their baby boy, George Anthony Bancroft III, on June 18 after she struggled to get pregnant naturally.

'He’s our little miracle. It’s amazing,' Andrea told People of their only son, whom they have nicknamed Tripp. 'I’ve always wanted to experience having a son. At my age, I never thought that I would have another child. I’m just in awe every time I look at his face.'

When the couple decided to try for one more baby in the hopes of having a boy, the journalist said they assumed she would just get pregnant naturally as she did with their five daughters.

They eventually turned to IVF to make their dreams come true, and the first round resulted in two embryos. Despite their desire to have a boy, they agreed to choose the healthiest one to transfer, regardless of sex.

'We were like, "We’ll probably just get all girls." If it was a girl, it would be a girl, that was fine,' she said. 'When the report came back and the boy was a higher-quality embryo, we were like, "It’s meant to be."'

Andrea admitted that she was worried something would go wrong in her pregnancy, to the point that she was afraid to buy things for the baby.

While her fears were unfounded, there were complications during her delivery.

Andrea suffered fromadherent placenta, also known as placenta accreta spectrum, a condition in which part of or the entire placenta attaches to the uterus and can cause excessive bleeding during delivery.

Doctors told her having the potentially life-threatening condition was a result of having multiple children.

The mother of six is slowly recovering and currently taking iron to compensate for the blood she lost during her delivery.

Looking back on her son's birth, Andrea said her baby boy wasn't crying at first and she kept asking if he was 'okay.' When she finally heard him wail, she said it was the 'greatest feeling.'

In addition to her recovery, Tripp had to spend a short time in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at the hospital.

Andrea recalled having tears in her eyes when her daughters— Anna Katherine, 10,Charlotte Brewster, nine,Christina Margaret, six,Georgia Rapalje, five, and Elle Corbin, four— excitedly ran to Tripp's bassinet in the hospital to meet their baby brother for the first time.

The mom's five girls have been a huge help taking care of Tripp, and they like taking turns feeding him pumped breast milk from a bottle.

'They have been fighting like crazy over who gets to hold him,' she told People. 'They are all little mommies. Every chance they get, they want to be around him.'

Andrea said her husband is the 'best dad ever' to their daughters but noted that 'he really, really wanted a son.'

'Just the way he looks at him is so special,' she said Tony's bond with Tripp.

Andrea broke the news of her pregnancy on New Year's Eve in a clip posted to Dateline's Twitter page.

'In 2019, I’m having a baby! But will it be a boy or a girl? Let’s find out!' she say in the video before popping a balloon to reveal the baby's gender.'It’s a boy! After five girls, it’s a boy! Happy New Year.'

Andrea and Today appeared on the Today show with their daughters in January to discuss her pregnancy and their decision to grow their family.

'I honestly didn’t think it would work,' she said. 'And here we are.'

Fortunately for the busy journalist, her workload has lightened up as her kids have gotten older, making it easier for her to welcome a newborn.

'It starts to sort of feed off itself, whereas they get older they start to help the other ones, and it gets easier and easier,' she explained.

'I remember just pulling my hair out when they were little and now it’s like, "Hey, can you go get this? Can you get her a bottle?" And they start to do things for each other,' she said at the time.