Why are more and more women today opting to become mothers in their forties, and even as late as fifty?

What are the risks and what are the benefits?

Read on for some questions, some conceived in ignorance and others from semi-intelligent observation.

Psychologically speaking (through the eyes of a non-psychologist), there is always going to be someone who will tell the older mother she is crazy to consider having a baby later in life.

Ultimately, however, it is only the mother-to-be who has to make the choice and answer for it.

The desire to be a mother is no different at forty-five than at twenty-five.

And why shouldn't it be fulfilled, as long as the mother can provide for the child, and give it what it needs to grow up to be a responsible adult?

And so to those who ask why, you should say: Because.

To those who ask how, you should reply: the usual way.

And like the true color of one's hair and size of one's bank account, whose business and life is it anyway?

Source: Change of Life Babies: Do They Really?, by Marjorie Dorfman

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:

Inconceivable

Inconceivable: A Woman's Triumph over Despair and Statistics
by Julia Indichova

-- A memoir of hope for the thousands of women struggling with infertility, from one who beat the odds by simply tuning in to her body and tapping her well of sheer determination.

At a time when more and more women are trying to get pregnant at increasingly advanced ages, fertility specialists and homeopathic researchers boast endless treatment options.

But when Julia Indichova made the rounds of medical doctors and nontraditional healers, she was still unable to conceive a child.

It was only when she forsook their financially and emotionally draining advice, turning inward instead, that she finally met with reproductive success. Inconceivable recounts this journey from hopeless diagnoses to elated motherhood.

Anyone who has faced infertility will relate to Julia's desperate measures: acupuncture, unidentifiable black-and-white pellets, herb soup, foul-smelling fruit, even making love on red sheets.

Five reproductive endocrinologists told her that there was no documented case of anyone in her hormonal condition getting pregnant, forcing her to finally embark on her own intuitive regimen.

After eight caffeine-free, nutrient-rich, yoga-laden months, complemented by visualization exercises, Julia received amazing news; incredibly, she was pregnant.

Nine months later she gave birth to a healthy girl.

📚 Paperback: 244 pages
Click to order/for more info: Inconceivable

📚 Start reading Inconceivable on your Kindle in under a minute!

📚 Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

More and more people are delaying parenthood until they are in their forties or even older.

Women over 35 getting pregnant, are the fastest-growing demographic in our modern world.

With the increased prevalence of older parents, it seems there is also increased controversy, discussion and resources swirling around the “older parents” movement.

There is a bevy of information online for older parents - whether you are considering adoption or pregnancy and birth, are interested in how children of older parents do in comparison to those whose parents are younger, or just want to gather information.

A couple of the best resources listed is my Stories of Pregnancy blogs!

🤰🏻 Stories of Pregnancy and Birth Over 44 is a fun site with a collection of thousands of stories and articles about and by older mothers. This resource focuses on women who give birth to biological children after the mid-forties, not necessarily parents who have adopted.

🤰🏻 Pregnancy Stories By Age -- My goal is to simply share stories I find online, for inspiration - to those trying - and comfort to those who find themselves unexpectedly pregnant!... Sort of a chicken soup for the TTCing over 44 soul!

More resources:

🤰🏻 While this site is in the United Kingdom, Mothers Over 40 is a positive and encouraging site with articles, resources and links relating to over forty parenting.

🤰🏻 Hot Flashes, Warm Bottles is a book written by Nancy London, M.S.W. is a great, about-time book for moms who are older.

Adopting.org has a wealth of information for adoptive parents over the age of forty online. This site provides stories, articles and links to other resources for older parents.

🤰🏻 For a positive spin, the article What are the Advantages of Having Children Later in Life written by Jan Anderson. This article has a nice, first-hand approach and lots of encouragement and personal experience information.

🤰🏻 You Can Get Pregnant Over 40 says, If you are over 40 and trying to conceive without success, or if you continually miscarry, you start to believe a successful pregnancy over 40 is impossible. I'm here to tell you that it was possible for me - naturally.

🤰🏻 Fertility Over 40 -- With over 12 years experience supporting women just like you. We know what works and what doesn't. Plus we give you the support and expertise of your own fertility coach! Join the thousands of other women who have achieved pregnancy over 40! Free membership to receive updates and free fertility tips.

🤰🏻 Age and Fertility (free booklet)

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
How to Make Love to a Plastic Cup: A Guy's Guide to the World of Infertility
by Greg Wolfe

-- The man's guide to anything and everything in the infertility universe.

Greg Wolfe went through four cycles of IVF on his rocky journey to fatherhood—and now, with profound sympathy and side-splitting humor, he lays it all out for guys on similar baby-making quests.

How to Make Love to a Plastic Cup is not your typical nuts and bolts (no pun intended) medical guide but a helpful handbook designed specifically with the male partner in mind, with answers to his most pressing questions about the infertility process...

📚 Paperback: 256 pages
Click to order/for more info: How to Make Love to a Plastic Cup

📚 Start reading How to Make Love to a Plastic Cup on your Kindle in under a minute!

📚 Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

It's time to update this quote:

"In 2009, there were 105,827 live births in the United States to women ages 40 through 44 -- 7,320 live births to women 45 to 49 -- 569 live births to women 50-54.
In 2009, there were only 783 live births to women over 43, using donor eggs.""

Checking the 2018 birth stats today at the CDC and I found:

Age of mother

Women in their 40s -- The birth rate for women aged 40–44 was 11.8 births per 1,000 women in 2018, up 2% from 2017; the rate for this group has risen almost continuously since 1985. The number of births to women in their early 40s rose 2% from 2017 to 2018.

Women aged 45-49 -- The birth rate for women aged 45–49 (which includes births to women aged 50 and over) was 0.9 births per 1,000 women in 2018, unchanged from 2017. The number of births to women aged 45 and over was also unchanged from 2017 to 2018.

Women aged 50 and over -- There were 959 births to women aged 50 and over in 2018, up from 840 in 2017. The number of births to women in this age group has generally increased since 1997 (from 144 births), when data for women aged 50 and over became available again. The birth rate for women aged 50–54 rose to 0.9 births per 10,000 women in 2018, from 0.8 in 2017.

TOTAL (40-54) : 126,956 live births

NOTE: In this report, tables labeled 45-49 years, 45-54 years, and 50-54 years include births to mothers up to age 64.

Next I went to SART, who has the 2017 IVF and Donor Egg rates in the US:

Fresh Embryos From Non-Donor Oocytes
Number of cycles : (41-42) 12,258 (over 42) 8,652

Percentage of cycles resulting in live births : (41-42) 12.8 (over 42) 4.4

Total live births : (41-42) 1,569 (over 42) 381

TOTAL (over 40) : 1,950

Donor Oocytes (all ages)

Number of transfers : (Fresh Donor Eggs) 3,146 (Frozen Donor Eggs) 3,013 (Donated Embryos) 1,697 (Thawed Embryos) 12,481

Percentage of transfers resulting in live births : (Fresh) 49.2 (Frozen) 43.1 (Donated Embryos) 42.8 (Thawed Embryos) 46.2



Total Live Births : (Fresh) 1,548 (Frozen) 1,298 (Donated Embryos) 726 (Thawed Embryos) 5,766

TOTAL births by Donor Egg/Embryos (all ages) : 9,338

Source: www.Sartcorsonline.com

Picture credit: CDC.gov

How old were the women who used ART in the United States in 2017?Figure 3: The largest group of women using ART services were women younger than age 35. These women represented approximately 38% of all ART cycles performed in 2017. About 20% of ART cycles were performed among women aged 35–37, 19% among women aged 38–40, 10% among women aged 41–42, 7% among women aged 43–44, and 6% among women older than age 44. The average age of women using ART services in 2017 was 36.

How did the types of ART cycles used in the United States differ among women of different ages?
Figure 4 shows that, in 2017, the percentage of ART cycles in which a woman used her own eggs declined with age, while the percentage of ART cycles using a donor egg increased with age. The vast majority (96%) of women younger than age 35 used their own eggs (nondonor), and about 4% used donor eggs. In contrast, 35% of women aged 43–44 and 68% of women older than age 44 used donor eggs.

Was the use of donor eggs or embryos higher among older women undergoing ART?
The percentage of cycles performed with donor eggs increased sharply after age 40. Among women older than age 48, for example, approximately 86% of all ART cycles used donor eggs. Eggs produced by women in older age groups form embryos that are less likely to implant and more likely to result in miscarriage if they do implant.

Number of live-birth deliveries to women using Donor Egg older than 44 in 2017: 654

Source: CDC.gov/art

So the updated quote will become:

"In 2018, there were 126,956 live births in the United States to women ages 40 through 54 -- 959 of those live births to women 50-54.
In 2017, there were only 654 live births to women over 43, using donor eggs."

Here's a list of clinics in the UK which will treat women 45 or over.
Can't guarantee how accurate this info is, as it's several years old.

Birmingham Women's Hospital
The Fertility Centre is located on the second floor of our Women's hospital.
- providing a full range of services from diagnosis of infertility, to IVF and ICSI treatment, treatment with donated eggs or sperm, surrogacy, fertility preservation for a range of medical issues and pre-implantation genetic diagnosis.

BMI Priory Hospital
-- Donor insemination (DI), Embryo cryopreservation (freezing) and frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET), Intrauterine Insemination (IUI), Invitro fertilisation & embryo transfer (IVF), IVF and Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), Ovum and embryo donations, Surgical Sperm Recovery (e.g. Microsurgical Epididymal Sperm Aspiration MESA), Time lapse embryo monitoring system (Primo VisionTM)

Diana, Princess of Wales Centre for Reproductive Medicine
St Georges Hospital NHS Trust, 3rd Floor
Lanesborough Wing, Cranmer Terrace
London, SW17 0RE
50 years max, relationship 1 year minimum

Essex Fertility Centre
Holly House Hospital
High Road, Buckhurst Hill
Tel: 020 8505 3315
Clinical Director: Mr Michael Ah-Moye (1977)
One cycle of IVF: £ 2100
One cycle of IUI W/Donor: £ 650
50 years max

Hartlepool General Hospital
Holdforth Road
Hartlepool, TS24 9SH
Tel: 01429 522 866
Clinical Director: Mr M Menabawey (1968)
One cycle of IVF: £ 2300
One cycle of IUI W/Donor: £ 270
50 years for private patients if FSH level is less than 15 u/L

London Female and Male Fertility Centre
Highgate Private Hospital
17-19 View Road
London, N6 4DJ
Tel: 020 8347 5081
Clinical Director: Mr A Abdel Gadir (1972)One cycle of IVF: £ 1840
One cycle of IUI W/Donor: £ 675
50 years max, minimum 6 months relationship, number of previous cycles and maternal weight may be considered in consultation

London Women's Clinic
113-115 Harley Street
London, W1N 1DG
Tel: 020 7487 5050
Clinical Director: Ms Jinan Bekir (1968)
One cycle of IVF: £ 2100
One cycle of IUI W/Donor: £ 490
46 years max, 50 years for donated eggs

Maidstone Fertility Centre
Kent Medical Imaging
60 Churchill Square, King's Hill
West Malling, ME19 4DU
Tel: 01732 529 643
Clinical Director: Professor Ian Craft
One cycle of IVF: £ 1800
One cycle of IUI W/Donor: £ 650 (1 insemination -2 insemination = £700)
55 years max, smokers encouraged to stop

Manchester Fertility Services
Manchester BUPA Hospital
Russell House, Russell Road
Whalley Range, M16 8AJ
Tel: 0161 862 9567
Clinical Director: Dr Brian A Lieberman (1965)
One cycle of IVF: £ 1990
One cycle of IUI W/Donor: £ 420

Midland Fertility Services
3rd Floor, Centre House
Court Parade
Aldridge, WS9 8LT
Tel: 01922 455911
50 years - but dependent upon individual circumstances

St Jude's Clinic for Fertility and Gynaecology
The White House
194 Penn Road
Wolverhampton, WV3 0EQ
Tel: 01902 620 831
Clinical Director: Mr Jude Adeghe (1980)
One cycle of IVF: £ 1600
One cycle of IUI W/Donor: £ 500
50 years max

The Cromwell IVF and Fertility Centre
Cromwell Hospital
Cromwell Road
London, SW5 0TU
Tel: 020 7460 5713
Clinical Director: Mr Eric Simons (1961)One cycle of IVF: £ 2850 (under review)
One cycle of IUI W/Donor: £ 660
58 years max if using donor eggs

The Peninsular Centre for Reproductive Medicine
Exeter Fertility Clinic, Heavitree Hospital
Gladstone Road
Exeter, EX1 2ED
Tel: 01392 405 051
Clinical Director: Mr Jonathan H West (1978)
One cycle of IVF: £ 1868
One cycle of IUI W/Donor: £ 370
50 years max, M 60 years max, minimum 1 year relationship, BMI within normal range

Washington Hospital Cromwell IVF and Fertility Unit
The BUPA Washington Hospital
Picktree Lane, Rickleton
Washington, NE38 9JZ
Tel: 0191 417 6463
One cycle of IVF: £ 2250
One cycle of IUI W/Donor: £ 535
58 years max, stable heterosexual relationship required, egg donors must cease smoking 3 months before treatment, weight loss advised if BMI greater than 30

Winterbourne Fertility Centre
The Winterbourne Hospital
Herringston Road
Dorchester, DT1 2DR
Tel: 01305 263 252
Clinical Director: Mr Michael Dooley (1980)One cycle of IVF: £ 2490
One cycle of IUI W/Donor: £ 575
50 years max

Source: Can you please help me

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
The Infertility Cleanse: Detox, Diet and Dharma for Fertility
by Tami Quinn and Beth Heller

-- Women who are trying to conceive will find a holistic approach in this hands-on manual.

Step-by-step guidelines help implement a three-part program — of yoga, hypoallergenic and anti-inflammatory nutrition, and stress-reduction techniques — to cleanse the body, mind, and spirit in preparation for pregnancy.

In addition, this program draws on cleansing methods from traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurveda and has been specifically designed for women who are trying naturally or with assisted-reproduction plans.

Also based on new clinical research that suggests that gut health, chronic inflammation, and environmental toxins may be root causes of infertility, this important book offers all women a natural, holistic approach to readying the womb for a child.

Paperback: 192 pages
Click to order/for more info: The Infertility Cleanse

Start reading The Infertility Cleanse on your Kindle in under a minute!

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Some older mothers call it midnight math – the calculations they make while tossing and turning in the dark, figuring out how old they will be when their kids go on first dates, graduate from college or have their own children.

Julie Morris says while her pregnancy at 41 was a blessing, it also came as a shock.

Fisher was 71 and retired, with two grown sons from a previous marriage.

The double standard surrounding older parenthood was quickly apparent: Everybody congratulated Jim for being such a great old guy and looked at me like, 'How did you let this happen?'

Read more: The costs of older motherhood

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
Pregnancy After 40: 40 Things No One Told You About Being Pregnant Over 40 (Pregnancy Plan Series)
by Jill Conrad, Pregnancy Support Institute

-- So you're over 40 and you've decided to get pregnant. You are not alone.

A growing number of women are waiting to have a baby until they are over 40.
This book will reveal:

♥ How you can have a healthy baby in your forties (in spite of all the warnings).
♥ What the biggest risks are and what you can do about them (it may not be as bad as you think)
♥ The 3 most important things you can do to have a healthy baby after 40 (you might already be doing some of them)
♥ Why older mothers often make better parents (the surprising reason)
♥ The one thing you should do every night to keep you fertile and able to conceive naturally (it takes 5 minutes)
…and Much More!

So get started and discover how to have the safest pregnancy and the healthiest baby when you are over 40 and pregnant.

Start reading Pregnancy After 40 on your Kindle in under a minute!

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

---

Baby, by Saša Marani

To measure how much life has changed, Elizabeth Gregory needed to look no further than her own life and the lives of many women around her.

People don't have to choose one life, she says. In the past, everybody had to have their kids when they were 21, and they had to have them with whoever was there. Now people have more options.

Gregory, director of the women's studies program at the University of Houston, turned a study of those options into a book, Ready: Why Women Are Embracing the New Later Motherhood. She interviewed more than 100 women who waited until age 35 or later to have their first child. (She also included a few who had their first child at 34.)

Most of Gregory's subjects were affluent, and most were married, although the study also includes single mothers and lesbian couples. Some had children the old-fashioned way, while others relied upon high-tech fertility medicine or adoption.

The book is a positive portrayal of waiting, which Gregory says reflects a historic shift: One of every 12 babies born to first-time mothers in 2006 was born to a woman 35 or older. In 1970, the figure was one in 100.

Gregory, 50, says she didn't intend her book specifically to counteract economist Sylvia Ann Hewlett's controversial 2002 book Creating a Life: Professional Women and the Quest for Children, which focused on the decline in women's fertility beginning in their late 20's and caused an uproar with its implication women who wait until they are 35, 40 or older risk ending up without a baby.

But Hewlett's book didn't reflect the experience of Gregory or many women she knew. Gregory gave birth to her oldest daughter, Anna Peters, when she was 39. She and her husband later adopted a second daughter, Sophie.

Gregory talked with the Chronicle's Jeannie Kever about her research and what it all means.

Q: When did this trend of older first-time motherhood start? Tell me a little about what's behind it.

A: There are two basic components. One of those is the birth-control pill, which was introduced in 1960. There had been birth control before, but this was the first widely available, reliable birth control, which meant changes in women's fertility choices almost immediately. In the mid-'70s, you started seeing an upswing in this trend, people starting their families later. It's grown steadily ever since then.

The other thing is people are living longer. You couldn't plan to start your family at 40 if, as in 1900, the average life expectancy was 47.

The world of business hasn't traditionally been family-friendly because it didn't have to be, but (this is changing) as women ... decided they would delay children until they got to a position where they could negotiate more of a family-friendly experience for themselves.

The average age of (a woman's) first birth in 1970 was 21. In 2006, it was 25.2. For college-educated women, it's 30. There's clearly been a decision by many people who, given the option, they want to sequence their lives differently than was possible in the past.

Q: Do you expect the trend to continue with women who are in their 20s or younger now?
A: Now there are increasing numbers of women in positions to make policy, we will see whether they make changes or influence those around them to change the discussion of how we look at family-friendly (workplace) policies ... to a bigger vision which says we see family-building as a contribution to the commonwealth and we want to make it possible to do both.

Now younger people say, We don't want to live the lives our parents had, where they were working all the time.

Q: How are 40-something first-time moms different from younger first-time moms?
A: People told me being ready (to have a child) was vital. Other people may feel ready earlier.

They had certain benefits: They were more financially stable. They had the self-confidence which comes with having accomplished things in the world. There was a higher frequency of marriage (for women who waited to have children), and this has an effect ... if there's someone there to share the work. There's a much higher frequency of peer marriage, a higher level of women married to people with similar education and wages and a sense they were both sharing the family tasks.

A lot of the women said they had seen their mothers stuck in marriages they couldn't leave because they didn't have the earning capacity to raise their kids if they left, and it was important to (the women she interviewed) to be in a position where they could leave if they wanted to.

They felt more ready to focus on family. ...

Q: What are some of the ramifications of older motherhood?
A: One is women are getting to contribute in ways they never have before. They are getting to develop their skills and passions outside the field of motherhood in real ways for the first time.

Maybe we'll find ways to allow women to contribute without delaying (motherhood), but I think there's a huge positive in the personal development of the women, but also the nation benefits in having this huge infusion into the talent pool.

Q: You acknowledge fertility does decline for older women. Are there other drawbacks to waiting?
A: There's the lack of grandparent access. The older you are when you have your kids, the older your parents are when they become grandparents. ... They may be in need of care. The parents may be more involved in caring for the grandparents at the same time they're caring for kids.

In terms of their own planning, the (later) parents didn't want their children to have to be caring for them when the children were in their 20's. They were trying to be very alert about staying healthy and also putting away money for long-term care.

• More information: Readymoms.com

Source: Big benefits seen in motherhood later in life

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
Ready: Why Women Are Embracing The New Later Motherhood
by Elizabeth Gregory

-- Over the past three decades, skyrocketing numbers of women have chosen to start their families in their late thirties and early forties.

In 2005, ten times as many women had their first child between the ages of 35 and 39 as in 1975, and thirteen times as many had their first between 40 and 44.

Women now have the option to define for themselves when they're ready for a family, rather than sticking to a schedule set by social convention.

As a society, however, we have yet to come to terms with the phenomenon of later motherhood, and women who decide it makes sense for them to delay pregnancy often find themselves confronted with alarmist warnings about the dangers of waiting too long.

In Ready, Elizabeth Gregory tracks the burgeoning trend of new later motherhood and demonstrates for many women today, waiting for family works best.

She provides compelling evidence of the benefits of having children later -- by birth or by adoption.

Paperback: 336 pages
Click to order/for more info: Ready

Start reading Ready on your Kindle in under a minute!

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

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My life is about my daughter now and I love it, says Tracey Parsons, 41, pictured with 14-month-old Charlotte / © Clara Molden

Few women who delay having babies are career-mad singletons, says Lucy Atkins

Celebrity mothers such as Marcia Cross, the 45-year-old star of Desperate Housewives who last year gave birth to twins, may live in a rarefied world of hi-tech fertility treatments and round-the-clock nannies, but they are hardly alone in their desire to foil the biological clock.

New Government figures show a steep rise in the number of British women having babies in their 40s.

Conceptions in this age group are rising faster than in any other demographic, despite doctors' grim warnings about the increased risk of anything from miscarriage, maternal diabetes and caesarean sections to stillbirth and Downs Syndrome.

It all sounds distinctly alarming. So why are we leaving motherhood so late?

The stereotyped first-time mother in her 40s is a well-heeled singleton who has put breeding on hold in order to achieve world domination on the career front. This turns out to be spurious.

Lindsey Harris, creator of the website Mothers35plus.co.uk, says: In my experience, postponing motherhood has nothing to do with careers and everything to do with waiting for Mr Right.

A website survey of more than 2,000 women found a lack of a suitable partner earlier on was the main reason women waited until the 11th hour to have a baby.

Read more: Real reason for a pregnant pause

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
Zita West's Guide to Getting Pregnant
by Zita West

-- A pioneer in the field of fertility, Zita West's programme is invaluable for couples trying to conceive.

Harley Street's most popular fertility expert and favorite consultant to celebrity clients guide the reader through a process of vital physical and mental preparation.

The book is for every couple trying to conceive and has fascinating advice taken from Zita's 20 years of experience as a midwife and 7 years as an acupuncturist.

It provides a structured, easy-to-follow step-by-step programme, complete with case studies and enormously detailed questionnaire.

The guide includes details on:
• when and how often to have sex
• what can prevent fertilization and conception
• everything you need to know about sperm and ovulation
• nutrition, supplements, and herbs
• complementary therapies such as acupressure, lymphatic massage, and hypnotherapy
• how to overcome stress and other emotional blocks to pregnancy
• PCOS, endometriosis and other health issues
• tests and procedures if there is a problem
• and much much more.

Paperback: 400 pages
Click to order/for more info: Zita West's Guide to Getting Pregnant

Start reading Zita West's Guide to Getting Pregnant on your Kindle in under a minute!

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

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Forget all the scare stories about loss of fertility - women who delay having children are on to a good thing, according to a controversial new book by this academic and older mother.

Elizabeth Gregory tells Helena de Bertodano why...

When Elizabeth Gregory gave birth to her first child, Anna, a few weeks before her 40th birthday, she did not think of herself as particularly old to be a first-time mother - even though doctors categorized her as an elderly primigravida.

In the process of establishing her career, it had not occurred to her to start a family any younger.

I wasn't ready until then, says Gregory, the associate professor of English and director of the Women's Studies Program at the University of Houston, Texas.

Like many women, I was so focused on what I was doing, so absorbed in my career, it wasn't until my late thirties that I started to think about having a family.

Now 50 years old, with two children, one biological, one adopted, she has written a book about the growing tendency to postpone childbirth, Ready: Why Women are Embracing the New Later Motherhood.

The book offers compelling evidence that women who wait to start a family are making a good choice on several levels.

Not only do they have the chance to pursue their own dreams before settling down, Gregory says; once they do start a family they are usually in solid marriages, command higher salaries, and have the clout to shape their careers around their families' needs.

They often make better mothers, claims Gregory.

And the icing on the cake? Women who give birth after 40 even live longer.

Read more

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:

Ready: Why Women Are Embracing The New Later Motherhood
by Elizabeth Gregory

-- Over the past three decades, skyrocketing numbers of women have chosen to start their families in their late thirties and early forties.

In 2005, ten times as many women had their first child between the ages of 35 and 39 as of 1975, and thirteen times as many had their first between 40 and 44.

Women now have the option to define for themselves when they're ready for a family, rather than sticking to a schedule set by social convention.

As a society, however, we have yet to come to terms with the phenomenon of later motherhood, and women who decide it makes sense for them to delay pregnancy often find themselves confronted with alarmist warnings about the dangers of waiting too long.

In Ready, Elizabeth Gregory tracks the burgeoning trend of new later motherhood and demonstrates that for many women today, waiting for family works best.

She provides compelling evidence of the benefits of having children later -- by birth or by adoption.

Paperback: 336 pages
Click to order/for more info: Ready

Start reading Ready on your Kindle in under a minute!

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

---

It is happening! Pregnancy after 40 is no more as rare as it used to be. Congratulations, if you have already conceived.

It is not an easy journey when you get pregnant after the age of 40. There are extra precautions to be taken, more tests to be carried out, and there is always the fear of something going wrong.

Miscarriage, premature delivery, delivering a baby with a genetic defect and the list goes on and on.

To top it all you have to put up with comments and questions from your well meaning friends and relatives. But believe in yourself, pray, and read the right kind of books. This will help you through the various stages.

Reasons For Pregnancy Over 40

Maybe you were career-oriented and feared that child rearing will come in the way, or you may have had a late marriage. Divorce and remarriage could be yet another reason. Maybe you were undergoing infertility treatment.

Maybe even a psychological buildup due to a neglected childhood affected your decision to have a baby earlier on in life. Now it is anyways not the time to ponder over the reasons but to go ahead and do whatever possible to nurture your unborn baby.

Getting pregnant over 40 is difficult as the reproductive capacity slowly decreases after 35. If you are one of those who are trying to balance a high-stress job and your pregnancy, I am telling you that you are only adding to your risks.

Take up something less stressful and yet fulfilling. Eat healthily, avoid alcohol and caffeine. Have reasonable physical activity and take adequate rest. Try to practice meditation.

Prenatal Tests

You should undergo all the routine blood, urine and blood pressure tests. In addition, you can opt to get additional tests done as applicable for late pregnancies. These tests are done to detect defects like Down's syndrome. Although not fully accurate, a normal result can be a great relief. If the results are not good, prepare for the arrival of a baby with special needs.

You can also decide not to get these additional tests done. The risks involved in getting pregnant above the age of 40 are similar to that of a late after the age of 35 but are definitely more pronounced. Gain more insight on the subject by reading books. Get yourself a pregnancy wheel< to keep track of your progress.

Social Aspects Of Pregnancy After 40

Whom all to tell and when to tell that you are pregnant? As you missed your period and felt the early symptoms, you must have already told your partner. After the medical tests confirm that you are pregnant, you may want to confide in one or two of your friends and relatives. Since it is a pregnancy over the age of 40, you might want to wait until the end of the first trimester also.

If the additional prenatal tests are normal, you may feel more confident in telling others. In any case, be prepared for some disapproving comments. Maintain your calm and peace. Let your pregnancy after 40 be safe for you and your baby.

Congratulations for getting pregnant over 40. If you are worried over what others will say, don't. Although you have to be extra cautious as the risks increase, there is no reason why you should not enjoy your pregnancy. Get the required prenatal tests done and maintain a healthy routine throughout your pregnancy, study the pregnancy wheel for the different pregnancy stages, and all will be great.

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
It Starts with the Egg:
How the Science of Egg Quality Can Help You Get Pregnant Naturally, Prevent Miscarriage, and Improve Your Odds in IVF
by Rebecca Fett

-- Whether you are trying to conceive naturally or through IVF, the quality of your eggs will have a powerful impact on how long it takes you to get pregnant and whether you face an increased risk of miscarriage.

Poor egg quality is emerging as the single most important cause of age-related infertility, recurrent miscarriage, and failed IVF cycles. It is also a major contributor to infertility in PCOS.

Based on a comprehensive investigation of a vast array of scientific research, It Starts with the Egg reveals a groundbreaking new approach for improving egg quality and fertility.

With a concrete strategy including minimizing exposure to toxins such as BPA and phthalates, choosing the right vitamins and supplements to safeguard developing eggs, and harnessing nutritional advice shown to boost IVF success rates, this book offers practical solutions to will help you get pregnant faster and deliver a healthy baby.

Paperback: 304 pages
Click to order/for more info: It Starts with the Egg

Start reading It Starts with the Egg on your Kindle in under a minute!

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Is the Short Follicular Phase in Older Women Secondary to Advanced or Accelerated Dominant Follicle Development?

Abstract
This study sought to determine whether the shortened follicular phase in ovulatory older women is secondary to advanced (i.e. earlier) or accelerated (i.e. more rapid) folliculogenesis.

Normal ovulatory women, aged 40–45 yr (n = 15) and 20–25 yr (n = 13), underwent daily venipuncture and transvaginal ultrasonography throughout the follicular phase of a spontaneous menstrual cycle (control cycle) and after pituitary down-regulation with a GnRH agonist(study cycle).

As expected, the older subjects in the control cycles demonstrated an elevated day 3 FSH and a shortened follicular phase compared with the younger subjects.

After release from hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis suppression, the early follicular phase FSH peak occurred earlier (6.8 vs. 9.8 d; P greater than 0.01) and was of a greater magnitude (12.1 vs. 6.5 mIU/ml; P greater than 0.01) in the older subjects.

The time from release of suppression until the subsequent LH surge was also shorter (17.5 vs. 20.8 d; P greater than 0.01) in the older group. However, the time from FSH peak to LH surge was similar in the older and younger groups (10.7 vs. 11.0 d; P = 0.74).

Compared with younger women, older subjects had normal follicular phase levels of estradiol and inhibin A and lower levels of inhibin B in both control and study cycles.

We conclude that the shortened follicular phase observed in older ovulatory women is due to earlier dominant follicle selection, independent of hormonal influences from the preceding luteal phase.

Full article: Is the Short Follicular Phase in Older Women Secondary to Advanced or Accelerated Dominant Follicle Development?

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:

Ready: Why Women Are Embracing The New Later Motherhood
by Elizabeth Gregory

-- Over the past three decades, skyrocketing numbers of women have chosen to start their families in their late thirties and early forties.

In 2005, ten times as many women had their first child between the ages of 35 and 39 as in 1975, and thirteen times as many had their first between 40 and 44.

Women now have the option to define for themselves when they're ready for family, rather than sticking to a schedule set by social convention.

As a society, however, we have yet to come to terms with the phenomenon of later motherhood, and women who decide it makes sense for them to delay pregnancy often find themselves confronted with alarmist warnings about the dangers of waiting too long.

In Ready, Elizabeth Gregory tracks the burgeoning trend of new later motherhood and demonstrates that for many women today, waiting for family works best.

She provides compelling evidence of the benefits of having children later -- by birth or by adoption.

Paperback: 336 pages
Click to order/for more info: Ready - US | CDN | UK

Start reading Ready on your Kindle in under a minute!

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

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When I realized my parents were older than other kids', I felt embarrassed and angry, that they weren't like the parents on TV, said Rich Simon, a Washington psychotherapist whose parents were in their 40's when he was born.

Because they died fairly young, I became sort of an orphan at a relatively early age.

But Dr. March Enders, a Washington physician who was 47 when her son was born, said: When you are an older parent, you really want your child.

I felt more well defined in my career and had a lot more self-esteem, and, oddly enough, having Tommy has kept us young.

Despite a multitude of studies and headlines about women putting off childbearing until their late 30's and early 40's, surprisingly little attention has been paid to children of older parents.

For many, the emotional texture of their childhoods and their experiences in early adulthood are quite different from those of their peers whose parents are younger.

Read more: OLDER PARENTS' CHILD: GROWING UP SPECIAL

Photo credit: The Rippys
by Jordan Fischer on Flickr
Some rights reserved

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
Pregnancy Miracle
by Lisa Olsen

-- A 279-page, instantly downloadable e-book presenting a 5-step, sure-fire, 100% guaranteed, clinically proven holistic and ancient Chinese system for permanently reversing your infertility and your partner's infertility disorders and getting pregnant quickly, naturally and safely within 2-4 months without drugs, dangerous surgeries, side effects, or expensive infertility treatments.

It's probably the most powerful infertility reversal system ever developed, and currently the best-selling e-book of its kind on the entire Web!

Here's what the author Lisa Olson had to say about her incredible program:
After 14 years of trial, error, and experimentation, I finally discovered the answer to infertility and developed a fool-proof system to getting pregnant the natural way - no drugs, or surgery necessary.

It took a lot of research to get to where I am today, to know exactly what works and what doesn't. Yes, after desperate trial and error, countless of useless treatments, disappointments, and agony, a simple holistic system opened the door to my new and much brighter life of motherhood.

I was also excited to see that my other infertility related symptoms had diminished. After years of waiting, I was finally free from Infertility! I have become a proud mother of two.

And now I'm finally revealing my secrets in this new 'encyclopedia' of pregnancy called, Pregnancy Miracle.

I will be your own personal coach, take you by the hand, and lead you through the lousy advice, hype and gimmicks... and directly to the sort of inner balance perfection that will end your battle with infertility forever and help you become a proud mother of your healthy children.


Click to order/for more info on this helpful program:
Pregnancy Miracle

Dodge, 51, had her son when she was 42, her daughter at 46. By then, she had reaped enough professional and financial awards in the hospitality and tourism industry to call her own shots. She and her husband could afford a nanny when the kids were young.

A few years ago, she left her position in the hotel business in Toronto and Vaughan – and all the travel and long hours it entailed – and moved with her family to Brockville, where she runs a retirement home.

Though Dodge is still in a leadership role, she has the time and energy to get the kids to hockey and gymnastics and to help them with their homework. The family also has the money and freedom for vacations and other perks.

Read the rest of the article

Photo credit: Nerian
All rights reserved