Would you have a baby at 50?

[pumpkinpatch6]

Off the back of the "Do you regret having a baby at 40" thread, would you have a child at 50 assuming you can provide for it emotionally and financially? Obviously medical assistance would be needed.

No. I am early retired and do two long haul extended holidays a year plus other shorter ones. This is my time.

To be fair the pregnancy and birth take less of a toll on them.

No
poor baby would be crying in the night and I would be snoring away

I just don’t have the same energy levels and far more yeah whatever attitude now now sure that’s great with a new born 😬

looking forward to being a Nanny though (not for a few years)

I'm sorry you lost your mum but late 50,s is relatively young to die
My sister in law died suddenly at 41_leaving an 18 ,9 and 2 year old
Sadly people can die at any age
Its bot always CA made if choosing wen you want to have a child people have children later in life for a variety of reasons ,fertility issues ,money ,not meeting the right person to have a child with etc etc .

No. My fifties is the time to enjoy my retirement.

Yes

Some people are good nannies at 50, @HRTQueen ? It's a job and they'll be very well experienced. In fact, if I was going to employ a nanny I'd perhaps go for an older person.

My SIL and BIL had a child at 45, it has fucked them right up. She has not been an easy child and they are both permanently knackered and have been close to breaking at some points.
I also think it’s unfair their 14 year old child has 59 year old parents who are also grandparents.
Kids are cruel and a few kids have already said they think her mum is her granny.

I had my dd at 35 and think that’s old enough, she is 15 and some of her friend’s parents are young enough to be my own dc (her best friend’s mum is 33).

I don't think anyone should be actively choosing to have a baby in their mid to late 40s, let alone at 50 or older.
I think it's very selfish and doesn't put the interests of the child first, but I know that isn't a popular pov.

One of my dear friends Nan had her mum at 54 , when friend had cancer late 40s and couldn’t use the pill anymore, dr said shouldn’t be a problem because of age . Friend said the nurse standing behind him had eyes wide and shaking head 🤣.
just to add , same friend , her Nan went on to look after her and her sister everyday as mum not maternal and went straight back to work , friend had idyllic childhood, still going for tea from school until the end .

Baby at 39 and perimenopause at 45 was enough for me, thanks. Fucking knackered with SN son's sleep problems at the moment, don't know how I would cope with a baby.

From a mum of two last at 39, no. It isn't just about your physical age but your support network would be in a different place - back enjoying the holidays while I navigated the joy of toddlerhood.

I also think it could potentially be alienating. It may be more challenging to integrate with other parents of there is a twenty year gap.

I can appreciate I am privileged to have a teen and double digit near teen. I've had the joy and happiness. I could see someone who hasn't wanting to continue trying.

Not a chance !

by the time I’m 50, I’ll have a 25 and a 23 yr old.

Good luck with your treatment. I also hope your considerations for a child outweigh your own desire for a child should it get to that point. IVF and fertility treatment can drive one mad (I would know) and it's too easy to just keep going and going at any cost and pursue what I consider to be unethical, immoral treatment and decisions (IMHO).

I would but im 68 now. I had 2 miscarriage's one on top of the other when I was 44.
Its just me and DH and the cat and though we are happy it would have been lovely no matter if I was 50. I would have been thrilled.

Was it their only child ?
I was 33 and 36 when I had my boys and I have just turned 50
I really don't want another child and my youngest has complex disabilities
But I can understand if people have had fertility issues etc wanting a child if its their only opportunity.

Absolutely not. Not even if I was a millionaire and could afford all the help in the world.

I personally wouldn’t do it but I wouldn’t judge people who do. All of you judging people who do it and saying they are selfish, do you also think it’s selfish when 18 year olds have children as they are unlikely to have the finances to give the child a stable home? Do you think it’s selfish for obese people to have children as they may be too unfit to run around with them and may die young?

There is no ideal time or situation in which to have a baby and having them too old is no more selfish than having them too young.

I appreciate parents can die at any age, sadly I’ve seen it happen to several of my school friends. Actually, most of us have seen a parent become seriously ill and/or pass away by the time we were in our late 20s. Another reason why having children middle aged is simply not a good idea. But my personal experience is that the illness I lost my parent to is likely hereditary, and therefore I’d personally be selfish risking having children at 40+ and leaving them still in childhood. I think looking at family history can often preempt the likelihood of a longer or shorter life, but many people seem to think ‘ah it won’t happen to me’. Sometimes the worst case scenario is the one that needs to take first consideration.

I wish I had had my daughters earlier and I started at 34.... 50 no way. But no judgement.

Looking after a child and being a parent is completely different

it’s not just energy levels it’s the emotional side of having a child, babies and young children you have to always be thinking of your life around them, they need so much attention from you older children less so as they don’t need to be watched over 24hr a day

I can’t think over anyone who is over 50 that has the same enthusiasm/energy as most 25 year olds I know

I never had any interest in doing so in my twenties, thirties or forties, so I think I'm pretty safe from any such impulse at fifty.

I had a baby when I was 18 and yes, it is selfish. I was a silly kid though and I'd like to think I'd be more worldly wise at 50.

I think we're talking at cross purposes - by nanny do you mean grandparent? Sorry, I thought you meant a nanny. My mistake.

I'd say the answers to your questions are yes and yes, but obesity and poverty are eminently reversible conditions, unlike ageing.