40, FABULOUS & FERTILE

Fabulous & Fertile

by GIllian White-Roseway, Jamaica

In a time not so long ago, women were bombarded by ideas of a ticking time bomb; more commonly referred to as, the biological clock. The biological clock is literally the New Year’s Eve countdown to motherhood, where you ring in a new chapter of your life. Today, “the clock” still ticks, but there are women delaying becoming mothers. For some, this is due to circumstances outside of their control, while others are making a conscious decision to wait until a little later in life to start a family.

Motherhood has evolved over the past decade or so. No longer do you have to be a twenty- or thirty-somethingyear-old homemaker (although that's still ok); today you can be a forty-something mother and CEO.

There has been a paradigm shift and women are at the helm. Statistics show that for the last few years there has been a steady increase in women getting pregnant closer to and after the age of forty.

This can be attributed to a change in priority for most women. For some married women, more time is invested in their relationship and prolonging the honeymoon period before baby makes three. The independent women are also looking into focusing on themselves first before considering motherhood, with or without a partner. Ladies are now more focused on furthering their education and establishing a career before child-rearing, ensuring that they have set up a life for themselves prior to being responsible for another.

Forty is the new twenty. Well maybe not. But, forty is a new fabulous time to be a mom. And fabulous these moms are; successful career women with not only an MBA and SUV, but a designer diaper bag and car seat to complete the ensemble. So for all you almost forty-year-olds worried that your kid’s diaper bag will ruin your corporate attire, think again. The rubber ducky motifs of the past have been upgraded to chic momon-the-go accessories. Maternity clothes are no longer oversized yards of fabric, but cute well-fitted fashion-forward attire.

Mothers in their forties are not only more fashionably fabulous; they are more mature, grounded women often times in a better position financially to care for children.

Older moms have more life experience which often contributes to better parenting. Moms over forty would have spent enough time investing in their own development of self and character, which enable them to impart this wealth of knowledge and experience to their child.

While maturity and financial stability are the pros to delaying motherhood to forty or older, the cons do exist. Science has made strides in support of enabling women to get pregnant later in life. However, science has also proven that the chances of getting pregnant significantly decline the older a women gets, so one must take into consideration that motherhood can be put off for so long and no more.

Regardless of whether you became a mom at or after forty, by choice or chance, excellent fertility, or adoption, fortysomething moms are making it happen. So take note, having the career and the baby is possible, but to each his own. It all comes down to what your priorities are for your own life. Just remember, you can be fabulous in mommyhood regardless of the age that the journey with your little one begins.

“MOTHERS IN THEIR FORTIES ARE NOT ONLY MORE FASHIONABLY FABULOUS; THEY ARE MORE MATURE, GROUNDED WOMEN OFTEN TIMES IN A BETTER POSITION FINANCIALLY TO CARE FOR CHILDREN. ”