For many people, getting pregnant can prove difficult. For those past the age of 40, it can be extremely difficult.

So, when a celebrity like former "Boy Meets World" star Trina McGee says she became pregnant at 54 without IVF, after getting her tubes tied and a year into menopause, thanks to an "elixir" recommended to her by "shamans" in Belize, it may give people at that age false hope that a natural pregnancy is still possible. USA TODAY has reached out to representatives for McGee about her pregnancy.

Fertility doctors insist it's not − and they implore those inspired by McGee's story not to be fooled. If you want to conceive a child without IVF, you have limited time to do so.

"If she is pregnant (naturally) at 54, it is the biggest miracle of my career," says Dr. Allison Rodgers, a reproductive endocrinology infertility specialist at Fertility Centers of Illinois.

How Trina McGee says she got pregnant

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, published online Tuesday, McGee made claims about how she became pregnant at 54. The actress announced her pregnancy on Instagram Monday.

McGee told the outlet she and her husband Marcello Thedford have wanted a child for a while but were unsuccessful conceiving without intervention. She said they considered in vitro fertilization, or IVF, but she was hesitant to do it. Instead, they went to Belize.

Thanks to natural remedies recommended there, McGee said, she reversed her menopause and conceived. McGee credited medicinal herbs, a healthy lifestyle and a low-stress environment for her "miracle, beautiful, triumphant" pregnancy.

Fertility doctors say there has to be more to McGee's story beyond holistic treatment.

More:'Boy Meets World' star Trina McGee reveals she's pregnant at age 54

Dr. Mickey Coffler, a reproductive endocrinologist with HRC Fertility, suspects she didn't actually reach menopause when she thought she did, she underwent fertility treatment she thought was "natural" but really wasn't or she's an extreme medical anomaly.

In Rodgers' view, telling people herbs or elixirs will help you get pregnant − let alone while well into menopause − is deeply irresponsible. In her practice, she says, older patients come to her all the time with false hope that they can still conceive naturally, thanks to misinformation.

They're heartbroken when she tells them the truth.

"There are a lot of people who are preying on the hopelessness of people trying to get pregnant, and they feed misinformation that a supplement or an elixir is going to cure them," Rodgers says. "It is an absolute lie that people believe. No supplement is going to bring back your eggs that have already been lost."

More:More men are getting their sperm checked, doctors say. Should you get a semen analysis?

The truth about getting pregnant in your 50s

Rodgers says it's important women know the truth about their reproductive system so they can make prudent decisions about family planning. The truth, she says, is that by the time a woman is 40, she only has about 1% of her eggs left. Most women, she says, lose their viable, healthy eggs entirely somewhere between ages 42 and 44.

In her 20 years since medical school, the oldest patient Rodgers has ever seen conceive naturally was 46.

Still, she says there are ways to have a child past the age of 50 with medical intervention. For instance, if a woman freezes her eggs when she's younger, she can use those eggs for an embryo transfer later in life and become pregnant. This can also be done with an egg from a donor.

I'm single at 35 and want a family.This decision brought an immense amount of relief.

Rodgers encourages people reading stories like this to use common sense and consult their doctors for fertility advice rather than celebrities.

"I'm not this person's doctor," Rodgers says. "I cannot say one way or another how this person got pregnant. But, if there is an elixir getting 54-year-olds pregnant, I'm sure the whole world would be on it."