What age would you say is to old

[Mum23boys1987]

general opinions what age would you say is to old to have another baby if you already have children?

So much depends on your lifestyle, budget, relationship and the ages of your other children. Everyone's circumstances are different. Personally I wouldn't want another child past 35, but that's me.

For me 40 is too old but I know people who got pregnant beyond 40 and flew through their pregnancy.

I'd say things have changed so much and we are all fitter and healthier. I'd say 50.

When you stop producing viable eggs.

35

Haha,.my age now!

I'm finding this pregnancy such a struggle and I definitely had a feeling of 'I'm far too old for this sh*t' as I was puking into the toilet this morning while trying to get my daughter ready for school!

I'm 41, soon to be 42, and 19 weeks pregnant.

Seriously though, I think it all depends on the individual and so many other factors not least health, other kids, personal circumstances etc. There is no 'one size fits all'

I was 37 when DD1 was born so it's not a huge age gap between the two but if I had older kids who were now teenagers or even young adults like friends of mine do, I, personally, wouldn't even consider starting again at this age.

For me and for all i joke about it, I have zero regrets. I am a much better parent now than I would ever have been in my 20's or even early 30's. I'm healthy, I've travelled the world, built a career and now own my own business. I'm happily married to someone I didn't even meet till i was 35, mortgage free.... life has a funny way of working out exactly the way it's supposed to.

Probably around 38, but so much depends on you. Are you fit and healthy etc? Your body will ultimately decide this for you.

I’ve had babies in my 20s, 30s and 40s and honestly I was in much better condition when I was older. The only reason I sailed through the first couple was my youth! So actually they were all as easy as each other. If you are fit and healthy then you’re only too old when your body says enough - no more eggs for you. Which of course varies wildly (I’m in my 50s and still have regular periods).

This is such a tricky one to answer. I think a lot of it comes down to personal circumstances. I'm probably going to go against the grain here and say I don't see a problem with bigger age gaps, or people choosing to have children later in life for one reason or another.

I am the eldest of 5 and my youngest sibling is 22 years younger than me - Mum was 48 when she had the youngest. I was her birth partner and it was an absolute privilege to have been able to share such a special moment with her. So, with that in mind, I kind of always felt like 'too old' was more of a balance between what's biologically possible and how much you want it.

Over the last year, however, I found myself beginning to doubt that line of thinking, because what it doesn't really take into consideration is not just how you'd cope with pregnancy, childbirth and the early years, but also your health status and whether there is a reasonable degree of risk that you may not be there to see said child into early adulthood.

I know most of us don't really go about our days contemplating how long we've got on this earth (life would be pretty miserable if we did). However, my family were dealt a massive blow last year when we discovered that mum had pancreatic cancer. Despite best efforts to treat it, it is now likely terminal, which means she is unlikely to live beyond a year. She didn't have any hereditary gene mutations that would have explained why, at the relatively young age of 60, this had happened. There were no warning signs. It was just 'bad luck'.

In simple terms, my youngest sibling is now facing the terrible prospect that she will have to navigate life from her early teen years without her Mum. And I'm fairly sure I don't need to tell you what an agonising burden that is, for all involved.

Realistically, I know anything could happen at any given moment, and we make the best decisions we can based on our circumstances in the here and now. But I have to say that recent life events have certainly given me pause for thought on this particular topic.

Oh good, this thread again! It depends entirely on the Woman, her health, her wealth, the age & health & needs of her existing children, the opinion and health of her partner... For some it'll be 25, for others 45.

I was 41. No problems. But because I would PERSONALLY not have an abortion (despite being outspokenly pro life) I didn't go again, although I would have loved a 3rd.

Very dependent on personal circumstances. Many years of infertility meant I didn't have my first until 40.

Shit- I meant "outspokenly pro choice." PRO ChOICE!!!!

I've changed my mind on this - used to think as old as you want. I had my last at 38 and feel that was a bit late. If I had my time again I would start in my late 20s. I can only speak in relation to myself, but I look at younger parents and they seem a lot more energetic, fun and 'down with the youth!' I try my best and we have fun times, but now in my early 40s I'm dealing with aging parents, caring needs, emergency trips to hospital etc and trying to keep things normal for my DC. There is no way I could cope with a newborn and elderly care together, which the older you are when you have DC, the higher the likelihood the two could clash.

I think having your first later on is absolutely fine but being older, pregnant and still having young children to run after is a different game all together. Might be different if you had older children.

I'm mid 30s, 4th pregnancy and having children under 7 is hard now I'm in my 34rd trimester. My body wants to relax and sleep but there is school runs, clubs, homework etc to be done.

I was early 30s when I had my 2nd and it was easy enough as my eldest was still at home full time with me so we set our own pace. I imagine this would be similar to having much older children where you weren't so tied down and could therefore listen and respond to your body more.

Will you be expecting the child to care for you in old age? I have older parents and have had to deal with long slow decline and then a funeral while I have young children myself. Still have caring responsibility for the remaining parent. Parents were too old to play with us as kids. Got teased relentlessly as they knew nothing about technology and had out of date rules when I was school age. If you can plan for these things I don't think having kids when older is terrible but be aware how it impacts the child

45

40 was my personal cut off. I wanted to have some time
to enjoy after the kids were all grown

My husbands mum had him when she was 47. By the time he was a teenager his dad had died and he became her carer preventing him from going to uni etc

My friend has just had s baby at the age of 69. His partner in her late 40s. That poor kid

I wanted and had my two before 30.

I think 40 which I am now is too old for me but only because they'd be a big age gap.

I think having a baby especially a first baby at 45 is too old.

Probably mid forties would be time to call it a day for me personally. Although if I'd not had mine, maybe I would still be trying at this point. Wouldn't be ideal though!

While I do appreciate and sympathise with those mentioning older parents having health issues and passing while their children are still relatively young etc, this can happen at any age.

A good friend of mine lost her mum to breast cancer when my friend was just 14 (her mum was 36 years old)

Another friend now aged early 40's has been recently diagnosed with motor neurone disease which has been devastating. She rapidly declined from being very fit and healthy to now being wheelchair bound and requiring a lot of extra care. Her children are 11 and 8.

I know of very healthy and active 75 year olds and I know of 60 year olds in very poor health. We cannot predict what life has in store for any of us.

I think mid forties, around 45! But I wouldn't judge those who were older at all, just me personally.

I had older parents, no problem with it at all.

For background I had my 2 at 28 and 31.

I think late 30s it gets harder the older you get.

I just had ds2 at 40, ds1 born when I was 35. I got pregnant easily but have complicated pregnancies. I don't think it's down to age though as my mum has similar issues at 21. I may try for another in the next couple of years.