I know that a lot of women are having children later in life, but aren't there a lot of risks associated with this? Pardon my ignorance on the topic. I have read around, but I just wanted to see the opinions on here.

I'm turning 32, and just talked to my doctor about starting to try for kids later this year. If we decide to have more than one, I'm sure I'll be around 35 for the second one. My doctor and her nurse practitioner both had children themselves when they were over 40! She told me not to worry about it so much!:)

No, most of my friends had or are having children over 35.

No not at all! In fact I think this is a great age to start a family.

I think a lot of people do it. As long as you are healthy, go for it.

I'm in my 20s and I want to wait until I'm at least 32 or so to have kids. I think that women in this day and age need to live a little before committing themselves to being mothers. Women used to mature a lot quicker in the past (got married and had kids fast and most become stay at home moms), but nowadays women in their 20s still feel like kids themselves and want to have an opportunity to work and be independent. It's such a big responsibility to be a mother or parent and I think that you should only commit to it when you are truly ready and capable mentally, physically, psychologically, etc. One of the most important roles a mother can have is to teach/educate her kids and the more older and wiser you are, the better mother you'll be. Unfortunately you can't wait too long (after 40) to have kids because the last thing you want is a child with disabilities/ genetic birth defects due to your own fault.

I'm 35 and having my second now. My OB says that it really depends on the individual - because of my "advanced maternal age" there are additional tests, but everything so far is going great. There is so much more available now in terms of information and testing, not to mention all the advances in prenatal care. My baby girl is doing great, and this is actually an easier pregnancy than I had with my son.

While in principle, I think it's ok for a woman to have a child over the age of 35, more importantly I think this is a question best asked to your personal doctor. Every woman's health and body is different.

I'm open to having kids whenever they come, but ideally I don't plan on having children until I'm 35. One of my aunts married at 21, had her first son at 22, then her second son at 36. My 2 cousins are 14 years apart, one just started medical school and one is in the 4th grade

People talk about the risk of Down's Syndrome increasing with age and that is true. However, the chances of having a baby with Down's is still really small until about 45 or so. I think the chances are one in a thousand something in the 20's as opposed to one in 400 or so in the 30's.

However, when it comes time, I would personally not be inclined to try a lot of fertility treatments if I couldn't conceive due to age (or other factors.) If my body doesn't want to get pregnant I'm not going to force it. I'd much prefer to adopt.

Not at all. The older you are, the more social and financial resources you have to devote to your kids. I know a lot of women who had a child after 35. Not going to lie, though, I don't know any women who had more than 2 children past the age of 35, and several of these women had to go through some IVF.

Originally Posted by IntlSet

Not at all. The older you are, the more social and financial resources you have to devote to your kids. I know a lot of women who had a child after 35. Not going to lie, though, I don't know any women who had more than 2 children past the age of 35, and several of these women had to go through some IVF.

ITA .i have to agree that all the people i know who waited till they were older to have kids seem to be much better off financially. i guess because they got all their education (college, grad school, etc) out of the way and took time to get established in their career. Also they had a lot more time to accumulate savings.

though it really is a trade off (financial stability vs. biological clock)... while men can easily wait until their 40s to have kids, a lot of women cannot, as IntlSet mentioned.

I hope not! I'm almost 34 and 1/2 and probably won't start trying until I'm 36!!!

No, 35 is not too old. I was 32 when I had my first and 33 with my second. 35 and older does put you in a slightly higher "risk" category as far as healthy pregnancies are concerned.

Not at all!!