50 years old & having a baby
I found this article from a few years called Why I'm having my first baby at age 51
For me, one of the interesting things about the article is how she describes how the indecision of herself and her partner played out.- neither felt ready to have children till she was in her late 40's.
One of the issues the author points to is the great difficulty in getting pregnant later in life. Indeed, the author says in the article:
"It's a terrible modern conundrum, and I'm a little reluctant to be seen as a beacon of possibility because Pete and I have had so much heartache and we're incredibly fortunate to have made it this far. (I'm not alone in this. Another first-time mother in her early 50s declined to be included in this piece because, she said, "what we have is miraculous but we are in the minority to have healthy, normal babies... Nature is against us and I'm not sure I want to be part of encouraging women to leave it so late.")"
I have worked occasionally with women in their late 40's who are considering having children - I think it's important to look at all the issues around fertility and also, explore the potential of adoption or fostering. Another solution one of my clients was looking at was that of using a surrogate parent.
I think it's important to get away from judgements that society makes about older women having children as well as being aware of the difficult fertility issues.
For me, one of the interesting things about the article is how she describes how the indecision of herself and her partner played out.- neither felt ready to have children till she was in her late 40's.
One of the issues the author points to is the great difficulty in getting pregnant later in life. Indeed, the author says in the article:
"It's a terrible modern conundrum, and I'm a little reluctant to be seen as a beacon of possibility because Pete and I have had so much heartache and we're incredibly fortunate to have made it this far. (I'm not alone in this. Another first-time mother in her early 50s declined to be included in this piece because, she said, "what we have is miraculous but we are in the minority to have healthy, normal babies... Nature is against us and I'm not sure I want to be part of encouraging women to leave it so late.")"
I have worked occasionally with women in their late 40's who are considering having children - I think it's important to look at all the issues around fertility and also, explore the potential of adoption or fostering. Another solution one of my clients was looking at was that of using a surrogate parent.
I think it's important to get away from judgements that society makes about older women having children as well as being aware of the difficult fertility issues.
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