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Last month, The Pew Research Center published a report of new census and government health statistics that revealed that today more children are born to women over 35 than to teenagers. The report said that between 1990 and 2008, the number of births to mothers older than 35 grew from 368,000 to 603,000. In 2008, one in seven babies were born to older mothers, and almost one in four of those women were having their first baby. The majority -- 71 percent -- had some college education. This is good news, since these women generally have more financial security and stronger marriages.
What the Reports Don't Say About Post-35 Motherhood
Seeded on Fri Jul 16, 2010 1:46 AM EDT
Article Source: The Huffington Post- Enjoy this article? Help vote it up the 'Vine.
- Public Discussion (9)
We must remember, however, that older motherhood is also a double-edged sword that women should approach with caution and deep consideration. In my book, In Her Own Sweet Time: Unexpected Adventures in Finding Love Commitment and Motherhood, I explain the changes in society that have caused this trend, and also shed light on both the good side and the bad side of older motherhood in order to give women as much honest information as possible as they plan their future families.
The trend is not only a result of economics and education, but also technology and changing social norms. It's also because people are living much longer-nearly twice as long. The various stages of our lives -- childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, and beyond -- are all extending, and sometimes shifting the sequence as well. Technology and feminism have made it possible for women to make choices that couldn't have made even a generation ago. Many women are intentionally getting pregnant before they get engaged or walk down the aisle. Some women are having children as "single mothers by choice" before finding husbands, or freezing their eggs to donate to themselves further down the road.
- 4 votes
#1 - Fri Jul 16, 2010 1:47 AM EDTI find this a fascinating topic. I'm 31 and on the fence about motherhood myself and probably won't have the time or inclination to even make a decision, one way or the other, until I'm at least 35. It's ironic how socially we are finally surpassing biology. While a woman should not be a broodmare, I guess too she cannot just "choose" when to have kids (at least ones from her womb and/or eggs) without some risks and consequences. Very interesting indeed.
- 3 votes
#2 - Fri Jul 16, 2010 2:28 AM EDTI'm looking forward to the day when it is assumed that every pregnancy should be a planned pregnancy and that women are wise to make a careful decision.
Of course, unplanned pregnancies will always occur, but it would be nice to live in an era when the underlying assumption wasn't that women should both hunger after having children and should do it as soon as possible. It's the change in society's attitudes that I want. Every child deserves to be a wanted child.
- 2 votes
on one had I'm glad to be constantly reassured that "there's always time" emotionally,financially, and technically physically. however, ont ther other had it's fustrating when people ignore the biology of the situation. 26 is young socially but getting older biologically when it comes to reproduction. thats how it works. I am okay with that. but i dont need to be told "don't worry about it" when science says otherwise.
#3 - Fri Jul 16, 2010 8:55 AM EDTI think people are clumsy when it comes to discussing issues concerning sex and parenthood. They seem to be like a bull in a China shop sometimes. The underlying assumption -- that women are destined to have babies -- seems to create that awkwardness when a woman doesn't show any inclination to live up to those expectations. The idea of options is too new for it to be deeply assimilated into our national psyche.
- 1 vote
The amount of money and research put into to infertility treatments suggests to me that 1. most women ultimately end up wanting children and 2. older mothers do face complications in terms of fertility.
I don't know if encouraging women to wait to have children is the best idea because, while infertility can be overcome, it is a difficult process physically, emotionally, and financially.
- 1 vote
#4 - Fri Jul 16, 2010 11:25 AM EDTWell, infertility treatments do end up with a lot of press, but do we know the women who want them is a substantial percentage of the population or that older women are the primary users of IVF? Some women are sterile even though they are young.
From what I understand, IVF after 35 is discouraged although it does happen.
- 2 votes
By age 30, women have lost almost 90 percent of their eggs. See the Wash Post article by Carolyn Butler http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/22/AR2010022203639.html
After age 35 there is a steep drop off in fertility and the risk of down syndrome increases by over 500 percent (versus the risk in our early 20s).
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2010/06/22/DI2010062202515.html
- 2 votes
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