janetjacksonpregnantgraziaImage: Getty Images

Janet Jackson has revealed she’s expecting her first child at the age of 50.

It had been speculated the singer was pregnant after she put her tour on hold in May to focus on “planning” a family with husband Wissam Al Mana, but now she’s confirmed the news via People magazine, which also published an exclusive photo showing her rounded belly.

“We thank God for our blessing,” she told the magazine.

Jackson hasn’t revealed which method she used to conceive, but if she became pregnant using her own eggs – even through IVF – she would have achieved the biological version of winning the lottery. A 2009 study from the Sackler School of Medicine in Israel found that after the age of 43 a woman only has a 5% chance of conceiving using her own eggs. The odds that she conceived naturally are even lower, closer to 1%.

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Image: Janet Jackson via Instagram

But the number of women having children later in life is on the rise. According to the US Centre for Disease Control, 677 children were born to mothers aged 50 and older in 2013, about 13 a week. In August a 63-year-old Australian woman gave birth for the first time, which some health professionals branded as “irresponsible”, since the mother may not be able to support the child if she runs into health problems common for people later in life.

The news of Jackson’s upcoming offspring means those talented genes that also spawned Michael Jackson and the entire Jackson Five are being passed on to a new generation. No pressure to be the world’s next musical phenomenon, little one. No pressure at all.