Biology Last March a 63-year-old Dutch woman, Tineke Geesink, gave birth to a daughter, becoming the oldest-ever new mother in the Netherlands. Tineke’s case might be extreme but although it is common knowledge that there are huge risks associated with childbearing over the age of 40, more and more women choose to start their families later in life.
Women in the western world are putting off having children until their 30s. In the mid1980s about eight percent of women who got pregnant were over 40 whereas now that figure has more than doubled to 19 percent. A dangerous development according to leading obstetricians and fertility specialists. The British Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists says it is increasingly difficult for women to become pregnant after the age of 35. Those who do, face a higher risk of miscarriage. The college specifies the ‘optimum age’ for childbearing between 20 and 35. It is a biological fact- the older you are the harder it is to get pregnant. Celebrity mummies Being an older mother in Hollywood seems to be the norm rather than the exception. Halle Berry, Nicole Kidman and Salma Hayek are all part of the rapidly increasing 40+ mum club. They are a bad example for women, according to Mandish Dhanjal, a consultant obstetrician who has collected evidence
on medical risks for the British Royal College. He notes: “I am worried that older celebrity mothers could be unduly affecting women’s perception of motherhood in later life.” Louise Silverton, deputy general secretary of the British Royal College of Midwives also signals the same problem and adds: ‘Pregnancy complications can be more common in older women: They have higher rates of induction of labour and caesarean births, which present greater risks to both mother and baby.’ Recent research also links babies with a low birth weight and even, in those women who go on to have girls, future fertility problems for them as well. Furthermore the increase in older mothers also poses a financial drain on hospitals and health insurance companies because they have to deal with a growing number of women at higher risk of medical complications. Considering this, actress Sarah Jessica Parker’s much discussed decision to hire a surrogate tot do the bearing for her, doesn’t seem like such a bad idea after all.