How old is too old?

Hi Cheryl, I do think when it's medical intervention that has enabled a woman to have a child at such a late stage then it is wrong, there is a very good reason why nature as given a woman the menopause we are not meant to have children after a certain age and this ensures we don't for all the very good reasons you have made.

I believe you should have as many children as god blesses you with . My grandmother had 15 children the last being born when she was 57 years old. All her children were born healthy. Remember children are gifts from god and eshould cherish every child he gives us . Who is to say what the appropiate age is . In times of the Bible they were having children at much older ages than 60. Cheryl

I think 35 to 40 should be the limit. After that we should not have children…biological or adopted. With biological children, the chances of having imperfect children rises with the mother’s age and we really should not be so selfish as to endanger another life in trying to pursue our maternal wants. For adopted children too, the going wont be so smooth. With normal wear and tear of the human body, it is but natural that we tend to slow down after 45 or 50 years. We need to devote more time to our health and in keeping healthy. At 50 or 55, if we have a child who is just say 10yrs old, I don’t think most of us can do proper justice to that child’s expectations of a parent. Being a parent is not only to provide for food, clothing, education, home etc. its being actively with the child 24x7…for those who think they can, at fifty yrs, run with a child in the part with equal energy, they of course can go for it!

I think the age after 70s is a too old age.People get too old in this age,their organs stops working.

To discuss about the woman's age of having children is fine for a woman like me. I am now in forties and I am still able to have a baby i know because i still have menstruation or we call a woman cycle. The only thing that i know regarding this matter is as long as the woman is still have that cycle she is able to have a baby. And for those who has not yet given a baby they have a chance still. Let see, if a woman gave birth at a very old age i noticed that the child is very shy to some of their playmates or classmates or friends. Because i know a woman with this kind of life. Better to have kid than nothing, it is according to my own opinion. About the old eggs in this case you're right friend.

HI,Cheryl.I was studying biology when I was in the senior school and my teacher told me that a woman should not give birth to a baby when she is more than 45.Because the risk is high for both mother and child.So I think 45 is the ending line of being pregnant...

okey, 60 is old for me to get a child. . . isn't the woman artificially injected with eggs? I believe a woman of 60 no longer has the capacity to get pregnant the natural way. i presume the egg came from someone younger and not from her. I have rea in the internet about older women getting pregnant but they just carry it for nine months and give it back to the real owner of the egg,usually their children who can't be pregnant due to some illnesses.

I think 60 is a little old. For the most part I think it is up to a woman and her preferance. Everyone is different. Many people have their babies young and live a little bit when there older. Some woman have their babies when they are older and plan out every inch of it. I do think you are right about the egg thing. 60 years is a long time to be sitting in there. I would worry about birth defects. Can you imangine the effect on your body if you were 60 carrying a baby.

Well docters say its kind of risky for a woman to have kids past age 35 and when they reach 40 there at a higher risk of birth defects, but I think that as long as a woman is not to old to live long enough to rise the child and as long as she is healthy and if she is still capable of delivering a healthy child and if she knows all the potential risk, then its up to the woman, and age isn't to big of a factor. but as for me, I dont think I would want to have children at age 60 or 70 because if or when I have kids I would want to be of a reasonable age and not to old because I would want to make sure as much as could that I would live long enough to rise the child, and if I were 70 or so, I might not live long enough to see he or she grow up, and that wouldn't be fair to the child if I were to past mid way through the childs life, I think that would be kind of selfish of me to have a child at such an older age knowing that could happen.

hmmm i think that would depend on mothers on whether they would stop having a child, but as for me, right now i have 2 kids and its time for me to stop now..i am still 24 years old and i decided to stop because i kept on thinking that if i would have tooo many children i could not give them all that i want to give them or what they need. Plus there is the health factor, the later you will your kids, the most you will have a hard time bearing and conceiving them..

I agree with you, 60 is very old and to me a selfish act. It's not fair for the child. Ideally I think 40-ish is a good cut-off point, depending on the health and vitality of the parents. Incidentally, I think a father should think twice before having kids too long after age 40, just because kids take up so much energy and I think they need their father around participating. But agian, it depends on the father's occupation, vitality, and so on. With the father, the egg issue is irrelevant so it's more a matter of his physical and mental fitness.

I think the answer to your question is as individual as each person is. I dont beleive there is too old an age. I think if the woman knows there are good chances of complications, then no. It would be unfair to intentionally put a child in jeapardy. However, a healthy middle age person who sincerely wants to have their own child, why not. I dont agree with the statement about "raring" to go..what about a person in a wheelchair who wants to be a parent. They may not be "raring" to go, but can love as deeply as anyone else. As long as the person is healthy and there is no apparent danger to the child, then I dont see a reason why not.

I think there's usually a good reason why nature is not letting a woman have kids...so 60 is way too old IMO. Just as an aside, children who have older fathers are more likely to have schizophrenia and other abnormalities. Compared with children with fathers 25 under, the risk is doubled among children with fathers in their late 40s and tripled for fathers 50 and up. Apparently sperm degrades with age, too. Go figure.

That's a crazy story! I think a women should not have a baby past 40 yrs old. That should be the cut off date... lol because I mean who would want their parents to be really old at such a young age?

I'm not so sure that it's fair to the child to have a baby when the mother is 60 years old, but I do know a lot of older women who would be a whole lot better mothers than a lot of the younger women who have them.

I don't agree in having children when you are older than 35 years old. First I will be afraid of the complications one can have and also complications that the child may have. Nature knows what is doing, since when your are young you have patience and love to play with children. The older you get the less patience and energy you have. Well it is not fair to the children, since you sure cannot control your children when having 80 years old of age.

for me,i think the appropriate age is below 50..45 is still okey but 48,49 it is consedered as too old...you should having your first grandchild at that age..don't you think so?

In my opinion, that is WAY too old to have a baby. I was 26 when my 1st daughter was born and honestly, I think I waited too long. By the time I had her my age was starting to show. I had far less energy than I did when I was about 22 or 23. Back then I could miss a night's sleep and not really miss it. I just had a son when I was 31 and wow, am I feeling my age now. I was hoping to have one more, but I don't know. For me 40 is the final cut off. I'm thinking 36 is about as old as I would go and still feel safe and secure in the thought that I would have a healthy baby.

how old can women still labor? i am not sure about that. if a woman were able to labor at any age and the risk was all the same, it's never too old to have their child. but i think one should consult to the doctor before deciding to get pregnant because the risk increases with age.

If she is still healthy, and happy to have one, why not? How old was Sarah when she begat Isaac, so same goes to every mother here who wants to fulfill their goal.