How old is too old?

My grandmothers (Irish Catholics) had their last at 44 and 46 respectively. I've got a few aunts who have had children with no issues into their early 40's and having just turned 40 I don't have any signs of peri menopause yet so I assume I'd probably be able to get pregnant for the next few years if the thought of a third kid just as our youngest is starting school didn't make my husband hyperventilate.

44/45ish maybe?

Although last summer when I’d just turned 43 we had a teeny tiny kitten to care for, he needed feeding every couple of hours including at night and I remember being so, so glad that stage only lasted a week or so, unlike a human baby!

For me personally 38
but in general I would think it’s unrealistic to assume a pregnancy and birth after 39. You might get lucky but the stats are not on your side.

Probably auto correct for step mum.

It depends. My great grandmother had her twins at 46 (when her DD, my grandma, was also pregnant.). My friend went through premature menopause at 30 ish.

But.....getting pregnant and staying pregnant are two different things, the chances of miscarriage increase greatly after 40, along with the chance of disability/genetic disorders.

42 is latest I could think of.
My mum had my brother at 42 and said it’s very hard going through menopause with a teenager !!!!!!!!!
I was 33 and 34 and I adore them. Am 36
now and i am so so tired. Can’t imagine doing it later than 42!
I think for me 38 would be my cut off but I’m lucky to have children already.

Gran had her last at 49. In Yeovil Hospital car park, due to later labours being a little shorter than expected.

Thing is, if you can’t conceive naturally and wait till you’re 35 to find out, it’s a lot harder to fix.

Fertility matters way more than age.

What’s a step-up?

My grandma had her last at 43 🤷🏻‍♀️

I’m late 30s and I just couldn’t imagine having to do it all over again nor do I want to risk it. Sometimes I feel like DP would be a great father but there’s just nothing in me that wants to go through it ever again.

I think 46 is last chance saloon.

Your body doesn’t stop being able to conceive according to what people deem as ‘too old’. Otherwise that would be a failsafe method of contraceptive. I know people who haven’t been able to conceive at any age, and I know people who have conceived naturally in their late 40s/early 50s. Yes, these people are the outliers, but that’s nature for you. People know the stats on a population level, but individually, who can say?

I'm not sure i understand the question, you could think any age is too old but that doesn't make it to old

Personally it's not something I've ever thought about, each to their own really, not for me to get involved

Absolute latest would be 44/45 for majority of women.... and by thst I mean many women would struggle at 42-44... so up to that age would cover 80%-90%+ of women

I'd say the number of woman 46 + birthing a baby naturally without donor eggs / IVF / whatever is a vanishingly small group.

I had mine at 38 and 40 no issues at all (the women in our family generally have good reproductive health genetically speaking) and I feel very confident if I wanted another at 43 (giving birth at 44) i could based on my cycles / previous times to conceive.

My theory is that the more children you have the later your child-bearing years extend. I don’t know why this is the case medically.

It would explain why many of us have grandparents and great grandparents who were part of big Victorian families with the last siblings being born when the M was well into her 40s.

My ‘theory’ is consistent with the current situation where women start their families much later, have fewer children and often struggle to conceive at all.

I had my first at 32 and my last 42 and all completely successful pregnancies lovely kids.

However it was harder to recover after the last pregnancy because I was older and I didn't bounce back in the same way plus also I had kids to look after of different ages.

I stopped mid thirties because I already had two children and the risk of autism and other health complications increases a lot with age and I wasn't prepared to put us all in a situation where my first two kids were negatively impacted. However, if I didn't have kids I'd have gambled and considered up to about 42. I wouldn't want an only child to have to deal with all the downsides of old parents by themselves when they should be free and living their life.