What’s the best age to have your first baby?

[chatterbug22]

Subjective I know but interested in people’s opinions on this. Know it’s 100% different for everyone and there’s a number of factors. Are you happy with the age you were/are or would you change it to younger or older, had circumstances been different?

Late 20's for the first.

Young enough to have enough time if things don't happen easily, old enough to have established a career and have a decent income.

I was 37, would have rather been around 33/34, which was when I started wanting a baby. Wasn't in the slightest bit interested before then.

However, having to wait until I was 37 for bridal reasons meant that we had some equity in the house and savings so I could have a comfortable maternity leave, so it had its benefits.

*medical reasons, not bridal! 😂

It’s not so much about age but being stable, e.g having a decent career started, buying a house and not renting, etc.

I was 36. That was later than we'd wanted (took several years to get pregnant). I think about 33/34 would have been ideal. We had a certain amount of financial stability and life experience which helped.

I don't think I'd have coped well with pregnancy and a baby in my 20s plus I hadn't met my DH then!

I was 30, married, decent job and financially stable. It was a good age, I was fit and bouncy enough to cope with pregnancy and the nights but old enough so that I’d had a decade of freedoms behind me.

My only drawback is that I knew I wouldn’t want children close in age and that means I’m now 35 thinking about a second. I know that’s not old but I feel a lot more worn out, that I’ve rapidly aged in the last few years and a third would be out of the question realistically.

I was 34.

Started ttc at 31 but had fertility problems.

31/32 would have been perfect for me but 34 was acceptable.

Younger would not have suited me as I wanted my career established and also enjoyed partying and travelling in my 20s.

28 would have been ideal but was with the wrong man. So it was 35-40, which is increasingly hard now that I'm 44 with a 4 year old and can't cope with the lack of sleep. But it's just the way it worked out so no regrets really.

I would say 30. I was mid 20s and although I wouldn’t change anything, objectively I could’ve done with another few years I think.

I was 22, anywhere from 20 to 25 I would have been happy with.

I really don’t think renting is an issue. Plenty of kids grow up in rented housing and it hasn’t damaged them!

I was 22, my husband 2, when we had our 1st (2nd son 3 years later). We were renting a one-bedroomed flat. We bought our 1st house 4 years later. We're now in our 60s, sons 41 and 38.

First and last at 25. I'm glad I was that age. I'm now 40 and have got lots of independence again and have actually got my career after having DC.

When you're emotionally and financially able to do so.

I was 20 when I had my DD. I wasn't financially or mentally prepared for having a baby, despite feeling that I was. We had a second 2 years later and weren't prepared for him either! I had been in a stable relationship for 7 years when I had DD but it didn't work out. However, I really love our relationship now. Going back I wouldn't change a thing (except maybe their dad!!), but I wouldn't recommend anyone have a baby so young.
I do regularly get comments of "I can't believe you're old enough to have a 12 year old" which I LOVE!!

typo alert!

I was 27 and felt it was a good age.

Interestingly, my midwife said I was her only woman that age. All her others were either in their teens or early 40s.

Yes 20s feels like an unusual age to be a FTM now - all the other mums in my antenatal class were over 35.

similar story here – married for 5 years trying to get money together for maternity etc, DD arrived when I was 39 - luckily got pg first go. Wish we had winged it a bit and started trying straight away and then may have been a slightly younger mum with less menopausal issues when DD was an early teen.

to answer your question op I would say 28-32 would be ideal. Time to travel, build a career/job security and still young enough to have energy for baby one and maybe even have a baby two!

We wanted one at 32 but it took a little while so had mine at 35 and 37. A bit sooner would have been good but I wasn’t close to ready in my 20s. We travelled a lot, had fun and established careers which made it easier to buy the right house, save for mat leave, etc. Though I do think I’d have had more energy younger!

With regards to your physical health the best age is 24 years old & you should only have one child/live pregnancy.

I didn’t say it damages kids but it gets even harder to get on the property ladder once you have them. One of my friends has just been given hardly any notice that she needs to evacuate her rental and find somewhere else to live, another friend is trying to sort out her mum who is in her late 60s and still renting. For me I wanted more stability before kids.

25, lots of energy and at the start of a career so not as disruptive. Also allows plenty of time to space out children and not feel obliged to have a short gap between them.

It's so subjective, and how you feel in terms of the 'perfect age' often won't align with the reality of your life, whether you've found a loving partner or are in the position to become a parent.

I was 27 with my first and 31 with my second. For me, that was right. I always knew I wanted to start a family before 30 and was lucky to have met my husband by that time.

I was 32 and that was a good age for me. We had owned our own house for a few years and I was in a good place in my career. Now thinking about our second at 34.