At what age do you think a woman is "too old" to get pregnant? (rate, teenage)
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...People need to think about the effect of their decision to wait so long on the child. It bothers me to hear of people waiting so long. It just doesn't seem fair to the child. But that is just my personal opinion.
I would have stopped by age 43 if I hadn't finally gotten pregnant but I have to respectfully disagree that people who have children later in life are doing so because they purposefully WAITED. That's not always the case. I've always wanted to be a mother but I could not see doing it as a single woman and really hoped to meet someone I would marry, spend the rest of my life with and have a family with. So, for me and for many others (including a friend who tried for 10 yrs naturally and then IVF with success), it's truly not about "deciding to wait so long".
I agree.I had my last child at 47.Got pregnant on my own.Healthy child and pregnancy.I always felt so proud and happy to be pregnant at my age!And when I was up and about shortly after her birth,the attending nurse commented that she could not believe I was 47.I have always been healthy and I take good care of myself.But like the poster above mentioned,everyone is different.
I think that's great! It really is an individual thing. To put it in perspective, my best friend is 60. She does not have a child at home still, but she does a major amount of the child care (almost daily basis) for her grandchildren ages 10, 5 and 7 months. It's somewhat tiring for her, but she is certainly able to do it. (And that's on top of having a full-time job.)
Infertility is not a condition solely of older people & is not that cut & dried.
I know of at least 20 people personally, ranging in age from 28-35 who are using infertility treatments to get pregnant. Between PCOS, blocked tubes, early menopause, male factor (low motility), auto-immune issues, etc...there are a number of reasons that even younger people use infertility treatments because they cannot get pregnant naturally.
By your standards, I am "too old".
I did not get married until I was 36 and tried to conceive for several years and finally was successful at age 41. I am expecting twins thanks to IVF (in-vitro). I wish I could have gotten pregnant naturally but I'm grateful to have had a supportive husband and great doctors to help us. Our twins are the greatest blessing in our lives.
Yes, I know it's not an issue solely with older people, but the question was about how old is too old -- not about whether or not I think artificial means should be used in other situations. If you'd like to get into the issue of what I think about assisted pregnancy, then we certainly can, but I'm betting you wouldn't like what I have to say. Which is why I didn't go there.
If you need artificial means to get pregnant, you're too old. This includes fertility treatments and in-vitro.
You didn't specify "other conditions" or age in your reply. I wanted to point out that even people in their 20s need ART to get pregnant and I would hardly consider them to be too old.
And no, I do not wish to get into a discussion about ART with you - it's a very personal decision that each person needs to carefully weigh the pros & cons of for their individual situations.
You didn't specify "other conditions" or age in your reply. I wanted to point out that even people in their 20s need ART to get pregnant and I would hardly consider them to be too old.
And no, I do not wish to get into a discussion about ART with you - it's a very personal decision that each person needs to carefully weigh the pros & cons of for their individual situations.
The OP specifically referred to age, so it was implied and inferred.
I think you can only decide what's too old for yourself. Me personally, I do not want to be pregnant after I'm 35. For ME that's too old, but if another woman wants to have one after that-more power to her. I do think it's unfair to the kids when you hear about the 50-60 year old women having babies. I'm not saying that to offend anyone, I just can't imagine being a 20 year old kid and my mom is almost 80. But I feel that way about older father's too. Two of my mom's friends married much older men and both of them died before their sons were barely out of high school. But then, something could happen to my young husband, God forbid, and my daughter wouldn't have a father either, so maybe the age doesn't matter. Anyway, 35 is too old for me personally.
I agree that only the individual can decide what is too old. For me, I could not imagine becoming a first time parent later than I am now. So I think we probably all have our personal cut-offs.
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I do think it's unfair to the kids when you hear about the 50-60 year old women having babies.
Undoubtedly, that bothers me, too. I was pretty appalled with the 60+ yr old woman who got pg using IVF last year in NJ. Her reasoning was to give her 7 yr old son a sibling but I find it difficult to see how you can think that a 7 yr old is going to be interested in an infant sibling or even years later when he is 14 and has a 7 yr old brother/sister. I doubt they'll be hanging together.
Many practices will not do IVF past a certain age for ethical reasons.
I am an "old" mother. I am 55 and my daughter is 10. Let's see, Friday night we went to the local college basketball game, Saturday we drove to a National Park and Space Museum, Sunday, we skied for five hours and Monday we skied for three (the wind started really blowing). How many of you "young" mothers kept a schedule like that for the last four days? My child had no need to watch television in that entire time. In fact, she watches t.v. very little as our life is quite full of different things that keep us busy, active and involved. I will be coaching her basketball team next season at her middle school.
I not only have the energy and enthusiam to keep this pace but I have the financial means to keep this pace. I didn't have either one of these things in my twenties and thirties as I was working ten hours a day trying to make a living. I opted to adopt in my mid-forties. I never once gave it a thought that when I am 85 my daughter will be 40 or whatever.
Thinking thoughts about age will keep you from doing a lot of things in life, whether it be adopting/having a child, learning to ride a horse, or going back to school for a degree.
I am an "old" mother. I am 55 and my daughter is 10. Let's see, Friday night we went to the local college basketball game, Saturday we drove to a National Park and Space Museum, Sunday, we skied for five hours and Monday we skied for three (the wind started really blowing). How many of you "young" mothers kept a schedule like that for the last four days? My child had no need to watch television in that entire time. In fact, she watches t.v. very little as our life is quite full of different things that keep us busy, active and involved. I will be coaching her basketball team next season at her middle school.
I not only have the energy and enthusiam to keep this pace but I have the financial means to keep this pace. I didn't have either one of these things in my twenties and thirties as I was working ten hours a day trying to make a living. I opted to adopt in my mid-forties. I never once gave it a thought that when I am 85 my daughter will be 40 or whatever.
Thinking thoughts about age will keep you from doing a lot of things in life, whether it be adopting/having a child, learning to ride a horse, or going back to school for a degree.
Your daughter is lucky to have you and vice-versa. I think you're both richer in life! And you're right - thinking about age & putting limits on when we should accomplish things by can definitely hold you back from achieving some amazing things in life.
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It really is an individual thing. To put it in perspective, my best friend is 60. She does not have a child at home still, but she does a major amount of the child care (almost daily basis) for her grandchildren ages 10, 5 and 7 months. It's somewhat tiring for her, but she is certainly able to do it. (And that's on top of having a full-time job.)
