The age old question: Is it better to have kids early or later in life?

One of the things that struck me when I was pregnant and attending hospital appointments is how much my age was a factor. I never gave much thought to the fact that I was over 35 and pregnant that is until I was faced with descriptions of my pregnancy as 'high risk' due to my age. My midwife, who didn't care for this age bias either, explained to me that unfortunately once a woman is over 35 and pregnant, they are automatically classified as 'high risk'.

Now, I didn't actually mind this although I did find it slightly amusing but it got me thinking about pregnancy and woman's age in the eyes of our society. I found out that there are increasingly more women, like me, choosing to enter motherhood much later in life than ever before. I have no doubt sooner rather than later, this current view towards 'older' pregnant women will change too. There are reasons why age does have a factor both medically and physically in regards to pregnancy. However, some of these factors are outdated and should no longer apply.

Take for example the assumption that older mothers will struggle more to raise the kids due to lower energy than younger ones. Well, not true as this will depend on the individual and should not be used as a measure on how well (or not) someone will cope with a newborn. If the individual is physically strong, healthy both physically and mentally then age is irrelevant. Janet Jackson is a good example of a healthy, physically fit woman who is doing just fine raising a baby at the age of 50!

Biologically speaking though there is some truth in the impact of age on pregnancy since some medical conditions have been shown to be influenced by age. It is true that there is potentially an increase in genetic and non-genetic conditions such as spina bifida and Downs syndrome the older the age of conception gets. However, again genetic conditions will always be more of a factor if the parents have the gene in their genetic pool regardless of age. Furthermore, understanding dietary requirements in fetal development has helped many parents decrease the chances of spina bifida regardless of age. Also having a child with Down syndrome is not actually something many parents would mind.

I have heard of the advantages of becoming a mum later in life such as, the increase ability to cope with stress due to the fact that you are more likely to have coped with a lot of stress in the past than a much younger person. Financial stability is also one that is mentioned a lot in favour of late motherhood. Again, there is some truth in all these but the point for me still remains: it is all dependent on the individual. You can be a 'younger' mother who has had to deal with a lot of stress and is financially stable despite the age and likewise you can be an 'older' mother who hasn't got a clue!

In short, I don't believe we need to highlight pregnancy based on the woman's age alone unless there are other factors that warrant the extra attention. We cannot say a certain age is better than another without taking into consideration the actual individual. Factors like individual's lifestyle, health, emotional well being, finances/financial support, family etc all play a role in how well (or not) the individual will likely cope with pregnancy and pending motherhood than age alone.