A Baby Past Normal Child-bearing Age?

No, I would not be ‘brave’ enough as you say. I am a traditionalist in my views and for me, the best age to bear children is between 25 to 35. Before that, its too early…a woman has not yet had the time to enjoy life on her own and after that its too late and sometimes unsafe too both for the child and the mother. Love and wealth alone cannot guarantee a healthy childbirth and we all know that older women are more at a risk of giving birth to defective children. I think we have no right to delay the process of childbirth for whatever reasons and then bring a child into this world who will not be able to lead a normal life. Secondly, I don’t think the age gap between children should be more than 5 or 6 years. Having children in quick succession is very advantageous for the mother as she can end the process at one go and we all know how difficult it is to take care of children, no matter how much we love them. Secondly having another child when the first child is above 10 yrs, puts the first child in a very difficult situation. S/he is just entering adolescence when s/he should have the mother’s undivided attention, instead the mother is busy looking after a baby which needs more ‘attention’ than an adolescent child. This has serious repercussions on the teenager’s mind and I have seldom seen such teenagers having a healthy mind in their early youth. Thirdly, it’s the logic of the mind willing but the body unwilling. You wont be as energetic at 60 as you will be at 40. no matter how much wealth you have, how much love you have, how desperate you are…you cannot be as physically active at 60 as you will be in your youth and running after a child day in day out is not an 8hr-job.

Yes I would have loved to have more children but I had issues carrying children. Had my last baby when I was 32 but would have loved to have more and it wouldn't have been a problem having them well into my 40's if my body behaved. I began to have minor health issues by 50 so it wouldn't have been a good decision to make an attempt to carry more children. My husband is a little younger than I so he's still working and we wouldn't have had an issue financially. I always wanted 6 kids but it wasn't meant to be. We are very content with the 3 healthy adult girls we have now. Good discussion.

absolutely not, my partner aged me that eight years ago and I said no, we would be in our 70's when the child finally grew up and if our health was to fail, which it has, who would be taking care of that child? our children who can hardly take care of themselves? or the government? Nope I do not think it is a good idea at all.

Nobody is shocked when man at his 60's is having baby, but woman at 50 is showing with fingers by society. Man lives shorter life and age sooner, but can produce forever. I would say why not. It all depends on mother's health condition and financial status.

I believe that if the doctor said that the woman is not healthy enough to give birth, then she should not attempt to get pregnant. It not only would endanger the life of the baby but also the mother itself. Plus there would be other complications of giving birth at a late age. In 2000, my mom at age 46 wanted to get pregnant but at that time, one of her friends(40+ years old; still younger than my mom) gave birth to baby girl who had a lot of complications and now is blind. That scared them so they just didn't try to get pregnant already. It's difficult to raise a child especially if there are complications and you are not that well off.

I had my youngest when I was 40, though it wasn't as old as the late forties, my oldest was 20 at the time.. I agree with you, as long as the parents are in good health, (yes Dad should also be in good health, who else is going to run around with the kid..lol), and they can support the child financially, then there is nothing wrong with having a child that late in life..

In my grandmother's generation, it was very common with huge families and lots of kids. In fact, I've heard of cases where the daughter and mother were having their babies around the same time. My aunt (father's sister) and my cousins (another aunt's kids) are just 2 years apart. Well, I love kids....and if I wanted, I wouldn't mind bearing another child in my late 40's or early 50's....but I'd give some thought to the energy levels I would need to raise them. Bearing a child is easier than raising one. If I don't have the energy to raise a child, then I see no point in bearing one.

Bite your tongue...if I found out now, that I was pregnant, I don't know what I would do. I don't believe in abortion, but then I would be concerned about genetic problems, if the child had one, what would I do, it is not just how i would feel, but who would be there in 20 or 30 years for this child. And what would this do to my health. I wonder statistically, if at my age, I could get pregnant without medical intervention, but I really do not want to find out. My son was born when I was in my 30's, I went to PTAs meeting and was often the oldest Mom there, I would not want to think about it now.

I know what you mean... Halle Berry, Julia Roberts, etc... are all in their 40's but they are just starting to have babies... i had my baby when i was 31... and by the time i am 40... my daughter would be in school... so i think i will consider having one or two more... as long as i don't have any health problems... and we are financially capable... and i don't see anything wrong with women being pregnant at that age...

We adopted our youngest when I was in my early 40's. That is plenty old enough. We still have the energy to go to all his activities and he sure keeps us busy. I don't know what we would be doing if he wasn't around. We are close to the oldest parents in any school he attends, but it's not bad regardless. He is a pleasure and a joy to have around. My husband has grandchildren older then our son, but unfortunately they don't live close by. Would be fun for all if they were. I would say early 40's is the oldest to start a family. think how old you will be when the kid graduates high school. whit