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.

I'm 54 and a grandma to a five year old. I love her dearly and help out with childcare and sleepovers but omg it's exhausting and I know I couldn't do it full time.

I shudder at the thought.

Lots of men have babies in their late 40s and 50s…

I wouldn't plan to but if I found myself pregnant at 50 I certainly wouldn't be having an abortion.

I'm nearly 40 and sadly childless. I would adopt or foster at 50 (though would hope to be placed with older children rather than a baby/babies). At this rate, I'll likely be teaching into my late 60s or beyond
so will be responsible for lots of children for a couple of decades past 50 regardless. No doubt my friends will be in the thick of caring for grandchildren by then too.

No thanks. I would have been devastated at forty, never mind fifty.

No, even if you live to be 90+, 50 is too old.

Loads of men have children at 50. Is that also unfair to the child?

No, definitely not. Pregnancy and childbirth are a young woman's job.

If all natural and I was comfortably off, socially connected and fit, yes. I'm aware that there is an association between later fertility and longevity. Some older parents do age typically, but I've heard of far more making it into much older ages in very good health. I'd be aware if I needed assistance at that age that I'd be less likely to have those genes. These threads always make me feel a bit sad to hear how tired and old so many people seem to feel in their late 30s/early 40s 😮

My gut says No!

But.. what if their partner was in their 30s? Ideally you'd hope to live well into your 80s (if you're planning to go through pregnancy and childbirth at 50, you'd expect to be in good health). There's a good chance the non-birthing parent would be around. Does it change things?

Saying “what about men” is daft do you not understand basic biology?!

Good friend did it at 50 Went to Spain for egg donor and ivf treatment. She had one child already ( born when she was 43). She had every pregnancy complication you can get and a c section at the end which took a long time to recover from. She is 57 now and finding it incredibly hard. She is also very open about the toll it has taken on her body. Skin doesn't go back the way it does when you're younger.She wears a bra 24/7 because her breasts grew very large and then dropped. Her sex life has never recovered because her body image is now so altered.

No, though a friend had hers at 46 (no medical involvement) and didn't Cherie Blair have her last at 48? But no I had mine in my 40s and that was late enough.

No. Not fair on the child.

I wouldn’t but I already have two who will both be adults when dh and I are 50.

If I didn’t have any then I’m sure I would consider it. I don’t think it would be selfish or unfair on the child. People are living longer and if the parents are healthy, eat well, don’t smoke, drink minimally etc, they could potentially live an active life for a very long time. My own ddad passed in his forties, nothing is guaranteed.

Fifty isn’t really that old anymore and all the 50 and 60 year olds that I know are either still working, off living their best life travelling or helping take care of grandchildren. If they can care for other people’s children why can’t they take care of their own?

nature says no

Left to nature, many amazing younger parents wouldn’t be able to have children via IVF etc and I don’t think anyone would agree that it’s right or just to not allow them to. Plus many women are still able to have children naturally at 50, they just choose not to.

No. Even though I had fertility issues and never did have children, I would not have wanted one at 50. Especially as DH is older than me.

I had a similar experience to you. I vowed I’d never have children later in life, whatever happened, and I totally agree with you.

Utterly selfish.

Yes it is.

Yes it is. You’re still risking that child losing a parent when they’re still maturing.

You couldn’t pay me to have a child at 50 (or 40, which I’m approaching). I love my kids but even having my last at 34 was a stretch in terms of how much of myself I can give to parenting. I lost a parent to a disease that may be genetic in their late 50s, I could be leaving an 7/8 year old without a mum. It’s bad enough thinking about leaving kids that will be in their 20s if I go around the same age to be honest.

I misread the question and though it said would you have a baby for £50, to which my answer was an emphatic no.

Insane. No way. Says this 50 yr old.

No way! I am 50 menopausal and exhausted.

Yes ! It is .

It’s not daft when a lot of the arguments against it on this thread are not down to biology but saying it’s selfish on the child to have such old parents. So why don’t people say it’s selfish of men to have children at 50? Usual sexist nonsense.

😂😂I'd need another four zeros to even consider it.