To be surprised at someone being pregnant at 44

I'm not picking at your posts but those things have got nothing to do with egg quality or even your partners sperm quality. Completely understand why you want to enjoy your new body after an amazing weight loss but that poster isn't really wrong. Fertility has got fuck all to do with how healthy you are.

A bit like your decision to comment on this post.

I had my last baby at 43. We did use ivf, which increased our odds by adding more of my eggs per cycle. But not impossible and I know a few other women who’ve had babies in their 40s.

Uh… no?

I mean, statistically the vast majority of us won’t live to 100. I don’t assume anyone who says their granny did is lying.

But you’re going to mention your granny living to 100 because it’s interesting and uplifting.

Your granny not living to 100 isn’t a story at all - plus it’s bit of a downer.

Everyone knows someone who conceived with no trouble over 40. But everyone also knows hundreds of people who didn’t - it’s just not an interesting story, or a story anyone’s told them, because it’s private and sad and nobody wants to hear it.

I think that's unusual OP. But then when I had my youngest I was the oldest mum on the maternity ward at 32. There were two ladies in their late 20's having their 3rd babies with new partners after a big age gap and the rest were teenagers.

I found out today that frank skinner has a 13 year old son. I know it's different with men but he is the same age as my FIL who has dc in their mid 40's and grandchildren aged between 10 and 19

These sorts of threads are... strange.
For one thing assisted fertility has been a thing for a good while now and second it wasn't unheard of women to have babies post 45 before contraception was widely used (and yes we know sometimes women were pretending to be pregnant to cover for a teen daughter before anyone pipes up).
Factor in the age of menopause age creeping up in the West and decades of the welfare state and good nutrition and healthcare including dental care and it's really not surprising at all that some women are able to have pregancies well into their 40s.
I'm not saying from a position of personal cope either, I had my two in my thirties.

I knew of someone who naturally conceived her first at 46 I think?

What's funny is that while PCOS can affect ovulation and periods, because eggs aren't released monthly, women with PCOS often have a higher egg reserve and so can sometimes have an easier time of conceiving in their late 30s as they have more viable eggs.

It's weird. Bodies in general are strange and there are many exceptions.

And no, fertility is not significantly compromised after 35. It decreases a bit yes, but it doesn't fall off a cliff and the odds of miscarriage or birth defects are exaggerated. More and more research is showing just how wrong the 35=low fertility myth really is. After 40? Yes, there's a major decrease but still, it's an individual thing.

It's comparatively a little more normal in recent times, due to falling rates in other age ranges and small increase in older ranges.

Fertility past 42 is massively compromised though, and becomes compromised by the time 40s are hit at all. Defect and miscarriage rates are substantially higher into the 40s.

It obviously does happen still though.

So you think those people are lying?

OP, it may interest you to know:

Over 1 in 4 (26.7%) of all births in England are now to mothers aged 35 and over, with a notable increase in mothers aged 40+.

No post 35 is not rare

In fact more mothers give birth between 35-40 than 25-30 (photos will appear eventually)

Everyone: please be careful what info you post. I'm a bit suspect of the motivation of the thread... it's 2026 after all.

My grandma had her last (of 12) at 45. 🤷‍♀️

Where ya been? 🤔

I had my third when I was 40 (he was a surprise baby) and I do know a mum who had her a baby at 43. I don't know any other mum's who have had babies after 40 though.
Although I have heard it's more common for women to wait until their mid to late 30s before having a baby.
Not sure it matters to anyone else what age you have a baby at.

Had 3 35+

You cray cray

I think it depends so much on the individual. A friend of mine has just been through IVF to conceive at 38 due to poor egg quality and she already has a nine year old conceived naturally with no problems.

Why does a pregnant woman’s age matter to you OP?

I have pockets of social groups where most people had their babies in their 20s, others in their early/mid 30s, and some in their late 30s/early 40s. A wanted pregnancy, whether planned/unplanned or very very longed for, is always something lovely to witness, regardless of age!
I am genuinely thrilled for all of them. Each age comes with its own pros and cons, but it’s a unique experience regardless

Really curious where you live! Maybe we need to live there. I live in nw london and I am the only person I know who is resolutely old, even the 37 year old mum in my baby group said maybe 2 now she has met some first time mums in their 40s. Even my baby class in highgate is full of mums on their second baby..

Really curious where you live! Maybe we need to live there. I live in nw london and I am the only person I know who is resolutely oad, even the 37 year old mum in my baby group said maybe 2 now she has met some first time mums in their 40s. Even my baby class in highgate is full of mums on their second baby..

One of my father's grandmothers had her last child at 45 - this was in 1864. My mother's maternal grandmother also had a child at 45 (in 1894).

Schrödinger's pregnancy. If you are in your thirties and know you want to have children, assume that it will get harder later on and it's probably not a good idea to wait until your forties to begin TTC.
If you are in your forties and don't want children but are having sex assume you are still very capable of getting pregnant naturally and act accordingly.

It's not really what Schrödinger's box was about. But you get my drift.

Thanks, DP and I are aligned on only having one child. DP is an only, both my nephews are onlies and our friendship group is a mix of child-free by choice or one-and-done (or planning to be). In our world, parenthood = 1 child! We live in one of the most expensive cities in the world and our social circle consists mainly of dual-high-earning couples, so I know this is not the norm everywhere.

I don't think 36 is old but I don't think looking young and feeling young has anything to do with it. regular periods may help but I dont know aobut that. I didnt have kids so I dont have any personal experience to draw on