You finally feel ready to have a baby. And while you’re excited about having a family, chances are scary headlines about being an older mum are putting a bit of an unwelcome downer on your pregnancy
You’re there. After years of the wrong bloke, your career getting in the way or it just not being the right time, you’re in the place where you want a baby.
Your finances, relationship, career and home life may be better than ever, but being constantly reminded of the cons of having a baby later in life can leave you worried about whether you made the right decision after all.
So what’s the big deal about having a baby when you’re a bit older?
If you keep hearing the phrase ‘over a certain age’ when it comes to pregnancy, you can’t help but think of all the bad things and ‘high risk’ associated with having a baby later in life.
But, what’s really important to know? Well, it’s true that – potentially because of changes in your genes as you age – your chance of miscarriage is increased. At 40 it’s a one in three chance and one in two when you’re over 45.
It’s not news to any of us that our bodies start to grow in a different direction as we get older, but you might also find you have less energy in your 40s which could make keeping up with a little one quite tiring.
As tiring as running around after your toddler might be, you could argue it helps keep you feeling younger – which could mean you’ll be wearing your skinny jeans with pride for longer than you thought!
What’s the best thing about being a mum when you’re older?
It might feel like getting older means everything starts going downhill, physically speaking, but one thing’s for sure, you’re much more likely to be more stable – emotionally and financially.
Wild nights out might have been a priority in your 20s, but chances are you’ve got that out of your system now you’re older and you won’t feel like you’re missing out if you spend Friday nights at home with your little one.
One of the best things about becoming a mum later in life is that you’re more likely to have been settled in your career for a while, which could mean you are in a much better financial position than you were 10 years, and more confident to manage your career and baby.
Plus, we are often a lot more sensible with money as we get older so swapping our spending on lipsticks and handbags for nappies and babygros might not seem like such a big deal.