How old is too old to have kids?

Question

What is the oldest age you should wait to get pregnant?

Answer 1

I think it depends upon a bunch of factors. Are you still young enough to physically be able to become pregnant. Are you capable mentally/emotionally, and physically to raise a newborn/toddler/young child/teenager.
I don't think it is a matter of age..it is the capability, desire, and willingness of having a(or another) child.

Answer 2

Boy I am really surprised at all the dated answers here!
The ideal range is between 25-35, but some of you sound like anything over 35 is a big hazard sand this soooooo not true!
The risks for complications like miscarriage, premature birth, and Down's Syndrome do increase, but not as much as you might think! Try about 3%!
There is no one "oldest" age, it depends on a lot of factors..
Your health, obviously whether or not you can still conceive, and what genetics will be considered. Family history really comes into play.
I had my first baby at 29. After a bad marriage I divorced and then a couple years later I married again. Although I had 3 children from my first marriage, my husband and I wanted to have a child together. This past May I gave birth to a beautiful, healthy baby boy. It was the easiest of all my pregnancies, and labor was only 4 1/2 hours.
And oh yeah- I'm 43. I'm also in very good health and take care of myself. Within a couple of weeks after delivery I was feeling back to normal.
Many women are having babies in their 40s. It's not as difficult as once believed. I would be cautious over 45, but as I said- it depends on each individual. Anyone thinking of having a baby should have a check-up and talk to her doctor beforehand- regardless of her age.

Answer 3

I'm 42 and pregnant for the first time. It wasn't planned, but we weren't taking any precautions. I really had given up and thought I wouldn't get pregnant. I'm due in 5 weeks and will probably deliver early.

So far so good with my pregnancy. My blood pressure is very good and I don't have diabetes, something my skinny, 33-year-old sister developed last spring before she gave birth to a healthy girl. I don't know for sure that the baby doesn't have Downs, but the measurements of the nuchal translucency were very low, so I have high hopes. We'll love her no matter what, of course.

My grandmother gave birth at 45 to a healthy child who now has 3 healthy children of her own, so it is is not unheard of. Apparently, at around the turn of the last century in the US, the average age or median age of delivering mothers was 40, but I've never seen that statistic myself. I've only read it on discussion boards of older moms.

I wouldn't recommend waiting until after 35 to get pregnant, but it's not the end of the world if you do. It happens all the time and even at 42 my chances of having a baby with Downs is only slightly greater than the chances of having a miscarriage after an amniocentesis, which many, many women decide to do because they feel the chances are so slim.

Good luck to you.

Answer 4

In todays world, 65 year olds give birth. If you want natural conception, (no fertility treatment/insemination), then probably 35-45. If you're coming from a genetic background of no early menopause or fertility problems. Risks go up with age though, and you'd have to consider that. Also, how old do you want to be when this child leaves the nest, completely, like when it no longer needs any parental involvement or help (which, if your child is disabled, it could be later or never), which nowadays is like age 21-35. So if you had a baby at 40, you could be 70 before you were completely done being a parent. Of course parenting never really stops, but I'm talking financial and emotional independence, and not living at home, or needing parental help for everyday life.

Answer 5

Cut and pasted from one of my previous answers

At age 35 the risk factors of some birth defects jump greatly, however with prenatal screening, care and such women are having healthy babys at 45-50..

You may want to cash some eggs now if you have your heart set on a biological child... You would go on a fertility drug for a time and have several eggs harvested and frozen when you are ready one or more of those eggs can be invitro fertilized and implanted so no matter your physical age the egg is still from the 35 yr old you...

Sites with infor on possible problems and rates of increased risk with age//

http://www.marchofdimes.com/pnhec/173_81...

http://www.marchofdimes.com/professional...

Sites on in vitro

http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/fertility/o...

Note you can use your own stored eggs in the procedure...

Answer 6

I would say 35 to 40.

But I know this woman who has had 10 children (all by the same father even. Theyre a Christian family). She had her first child in 1980 when she was 29. Her last child was born in 1998 and she was 47. All of these kids turned out to be perfectly healthy babies.

Answer 7

35

Answer 8

Health wise I believe it is early 40s... however there are other consideration.

A parent needs to be able to play and adequate care for a child. And teenagers take even more work. Will you be able to adequate care for the child for at least 20 years to come?? This means financially too (i.e. college, ect..) I would say 35 would be the latest for me. So you still have enough energy to play!

Answer 9

Well, you die with the same eggs you're born with so waiting too long isn't a good idea. I had my son at 37, not intentionally, but I wish I could have had him when I was in my 20's. I think that's the ideal age.

Answer 10

40 is the age that is the oldest to have kids