Becoming a First Time Mom Over 40

Should you become a first time mom over 40? Over 45? Over 50? What are the unique issues older mothers face? What are the challenges and reward of older parenthood? Host Dawn Davenport interviewed a panel of women who became mothers through fertility treatment or adoption over the age of 40.

Listen

Hit the Highlights
  • Why did you wait until your 40s or 50s to become a mother?
  • How do you think your age and your spouse’s age affects your parenting?
  • Do you find that you have less energy than mothers of your kid’s friends?
  • It seems that the financial aspects can cut both ways: you are probably more financially secure than in your 20s or early 30s, but you also have fewer years to save and prepare for your future?
  • Age is more than just a number. How did you work out in your mind and life the question of “is it fair to the child to have him or her at an older age”?
  • Do you feel out of step with your peers— both your friends before children and the parents of your child’s friends?
  • How did you factored in the age you’ll be when your child is a teen or in college? I mean it’s one thing to parent an infant, but another thing completely to parent a teen.
  • Was it hard to adopt over the age of 40 or 45?
  • I know of no fertility clinic that would have a problem treating someone between 40-45, but some might have rules against treatment above the age of 50. Did you have any problems getting treatment, and have you heard of women who have been turned away?
  • What are some advantages to being an older mother?