By way of Jezebel I came across this article in the Independent on "late motherhood,"
i.e. moms waiting till late thirties and early forties to get pregnant.
As it points out, the rash of female celebs in their forties getting
knocked up (Nicole Kidman is the latest example) may create the
impression that it's real easy to have a baby around that age--that is,
if you use celebrities as your life model. "Well, Holly Hunter did it,
so why can't I?" Yeesh. I have a friend who at 38 decided to have
a baby, and after some preliminary fertility treatments went the egg
donor and sperm donor route (she's single.) Now she's pregnant, but for
a bit there she wondered if she should have tried earlier. And with
quotes like this one from a 2005 British Medical Journal
article on the fertility drop, it's no surprise: "If you want a family
– and most people want a couple of children – and
you are going to complete your childbearing by 35 and leave time for
recovery in between, you would be wise to start before 30... Surveys of
older mothers show that half say that they delayed because
they had not met a suitable partner. Maybe instead of waiting for Mr
Right they ought to wait for Mr Good-Enough, if they want children."
Uh,
gross. I'm on board with women being educated...
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