I'd be interested in your views on this; is this a facet of 'evolution' that has gone awry?
(inspired by Should Women Preach the Word of God? )
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/breakfast/4251402.stm
Last Updated: Friday, 16 September 2005, 06:07 GMT 07:07 UK
http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pa...c.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/breakfast/4251402.stmhttp://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pa...c.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/breakfast/4251402.stm
The heartbreak of late motherhood
Geraldine's not worried by having her second baby at 36
For years, women have been told to wait until their lives are settled and their careers are established before they have their first baby.
But now a group of doctors is warning that putting off motherhood until your late thirties is defying nature and risking heartbreak.
Writing in the latest edition of the British Medical Journal, they say that the trend towards having late babies has led to an increased demand for IVF - and a dramatic rise in problem pregancies.
Miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy and pre-eclampsia are among the risks which increase with age. Children of older men may also have an increased risk of some genetic disorders and schizophrenia.
What you told Breakfast
"Why always the comments that women are delaying motherhood because of their career? It's got more to do with people settling down later, not hard faced career women putting ourselves first! "
Liz Lewis
Read more viewers' comments on our Your Say page
This morning, Breakfast looked at the trouble with late motherhood
We heard from one mum - Geraldine Mynors - who's having her second child at 36.
And we debated the reasons why so many women are delaying motherhood, with journalist Christina Odone, who had her first child in her forties and Jill Kirby from the Centre for Policy Studies, who became a mother in her twenties.
More from BBC News Online
Over the last 20 years pregnancies in women over 35 have risen markedly and the average age of mothers has gone up.
Writing in the British Medical Journal, the London-based fertility specialists say they are "saddened" by the number of women they see who have problems.
They say the best age for pregnancy remains 20 to 35.
Over the last 20 years the average age for a woman to have their first baby has risen from 26 to 29.
"The message that needs to go out is 'don't leave it too late' "
Peter Bowen-Simpkins, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
The specialists, led by Dr Susan Bewley, who treats women with high-risk pregnancies at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital, warned age-related fertility problems increase after 35 and dramatically after 40.
Other experts said it was right to remind women not to leave it too late.
'Having it all'
In the BMJ, the specialists write: "Paradoxically, the availability of IVF may lull women into infertility while they wait for a suitable partner and concentrate on their careers and achieving security and a comfortable living standard."
But they warn IVF treatment carries no guarantees - with a high failure rate and extra risks of multiple pregnancies where it is successful.
For men, there are also risks in waiting until they are older to father children as semen counts deteriorate with age, they say.
Once an older woman does become pregnant, she runs a greater risk of miscarriage, foetal and chromosomal abnormalities, and pregnancy-related diseases.
They add: "Women want to 'have it all' but biology is unchanged.
"Their delays may reflect disincentives to earlier pregnancy or maybe an underlying resistance to childbearing as, despite the advantages brought about by feminism and equal opportunities legislation, women still bear full domestic burdens as well as work and financial responsibilities."
Clare Brown, Chief Executive of Infertility Network UK said "Delaying having children until you are in your thirties is a choice many people make but they need to be aware of the added problems when trying to conceive, particularly over the age of 35 when a woman's natural fertility declines. "When this is exacerbated by a further complication such as blocked tubes or low sperm count the chances of a successful pregnancy even using IVF are much less."
(inspired by Should Women Preach the Word of God? )
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/breakfast/4251402.stm
Last Updated: Friday, 16 September 2005, 06:07 GMT 07:07 UK
http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pa...c.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/breakfast/4251402.stmhttp://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pa...c.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/breakfast/4251402.stm
The heartbreak of late motherhood
For years, women have been told to wait until their lives are settled and their careers are established before they have their first baby.
But now a group of doctors is warning that putting off motherhood until your late thirties is defying nature and risking heartbreak.
Writing in the latest edition of the British Medical Journal, they say that the trend towards having late babies has led to an increased demand for IVF - and a dramatic rise in problem pregancies.
Miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy and pre-eclampsia are among the risks which increase with age. Children of older men may also have an increased risk of some genetic disorders and schizophrenia.
"Why always the comments that women are delaying motherhood because of their career? It's got more to do with people settling down later, not hard faced career women putting ourselves first! "
Liz Lewis
Read more viewers' comments on our Your Say page
This morning, Breakfast looked at the trouble with late motherhood
We heard from one mum - Geraldine Mynors - who's having her second child at 36.
And we debated the reasons why so many women are delaying motherhood, with journalist Christina Odone, who had her first child in her forties and Jill Kirby from the Centre for Policy Studies, who became a mother in her twenties.
More from BBC News Online
Over the last 20 years pregnancies in women over 35 have risen markedly and the average age of mothers has gone up.
Writing in the British Medical Journal, the London-based fertility specialists say they are "saddened" by the number of women they see who have problems.
They say the best age for pregnancy remains 20 to 35.
Over the last 20 years the average age for a woman to have their first baby has risen from 26 to 29.
Peter Bowen-Simpkins, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
The specialists, led by Dr Susan Bewley, who treats women with high-risk pregnancies at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital, warned age-related fertility problems increase after 35 and dramatically after 40.
Other experts said it was right to remind women not to leave it too late.
'Having it all'
In the BMJ, the specialists write: "Paradoxically, the availability of IVF may lull women into infertility while they wait for a suitable partner and concentrate on their careers and achieving security and a comfortable living standard."
But they warn IVF treatment carries no guarantees - with a high failure rate and extra risks of multiple pregnancies where it is successful.
For men, there are also risks in waiting until they are older to father children as semen counts deteriorate with age, they say.
Once an older woman does become pregnant, she runs a greater risk of miscarriage, foetal and chromosomal abnormalities, and pregnancy-related diseases.
They add: "Women want to 'have it all' but biology is unchanged.
"Their delays may reflect disincentives to earlier pregnancy or maybe an underlying resistance to childbearing as, despite the advantages brought about by feminism and equal opportunities legislation, women still bear full domestic burdens as well as work and financial responsibilities."
Clare Brown, Chief Executive of Infertility Network UK said "Delaying having children until you are in your thirties is a choice many people make but they need to be aware of the added problems when trying to conceive, particularly over the age of 35 when a woman's natural fertility declines. "When this is exacerbated by a further complication such as blocked tubes or low sperm count the chances of a successful pregnancy even using IVF are much less."
Why would it be worse for an old woman to have a child than for an old man to have a child?
