Older parenthood

Older motherhood

The number of first-time mothers in Australia aged 30 years or more has increased from 15% in 1981 to 49% in 2017 [41]. Similar increases have been found in many other countries too [42]. Because fertility declines with age and more women are having children later in life, the number of women with age-related infertility has increased as well.

Impact of age on pregnancy

Women aged over 40 years have a greater risk of experiencing [43, 46]:

  • Hypertension
  • Diabetes during pregnancy
  • Pre-eclampsia
  • Bleeding complications
  • Pre-term birth
  • A caesarean section birth
  • Having a low birth weight baby

The risk of having a miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, and stillbirth also increases with age (particularly from 35 years onwards), as well as the likelihood of having a child with birth abnormalities such as Down syndrome . This is due to reduced egg quality with age [44, 45, 46].

Older fatherhood

Male fertility also reduces with age [47]. However, this happens later in life compared to females. Children born from older fathers also have a higher risk of abnormalities and childhood illnesses [48].

For example, children born to fathers aged 45 years or more have a higher risk of:

  • Autism spectrum disorder (3.3 times higher when compared to children born from fathers aged less than 20 years) [49];
  • Schizophrenia (1.47 times higher when compared to children born from fathers aged between 25 and 29 years) [50], and;
  • Developmental disorders (1.58 times higher when compared to children born from fathers aged between 25 and 29 years) [50].

Pros and cons of older parenting

Here are some possible pros and cons about older parenting you may want to consider.

Pros

  • More time to have greater financial security.
  • More time to complete your education.
  • More time to find a suitable partner or be in a stable relationship before having a child.
  • More time to feel emotionally ready to become a parent.


Cons

  • Increased difficulty becoming pregnant.
  • Greater health risks for both mother and child.
  • Feeling embarrassed about being older than other mothers at your child’s play group/kindergarten/school.
  • Having fewer children overall, perhaps only one child.
  • Being unable to have your own blood related child (eg: because you cannot get pregnant naturally or with the help of other ART procedures).