Having a baby later in life

By the time our second and youngest child graduates from high school, my husband will be two years shy of the official retirement age. (I’ll be 51, just for the record.)

On one hand, that seems old to me. When I turned 18, my mother wasn’t even 40. At the time, my dad was 45 – even younger than my husband was when we had our second baby.

But on the other hand, it’s nothing extraordinary. According to “Babies and Boomers,” an article last week in the Boston Globe, more couples are waiting until their late 30s and 40s to have children:

“For some at the tail end of the boom, parenthood is just beginning. … These boomers may not be the norm, but they’re making older parenting seem normal, broadening our ideas of the ‘right’ time to start a family.”

While there are some health risks involved when a woman over the age of 40 gets pregnant and gives birth, many babies with perfect health are born to older women.

Some say that waiting a little longer has plenty of advantages, including maturity and financial security. By spending their 20s and 30s establishing a career, traveling and pursuing personal interests, some people say they’re better prepared and finally ready to have kids.

I’m not saying that older parents are better than younger parents, but some people – my husband included – will tell you that they’re probably better dads and moms now than they would have been when they were 25 or even 30.

How old were you when your children were born? Do you think there’s ever a right time to start a family?

– Posted by Virginia de Leon

Join the conversation at www.spokesman.com/blogs/parents.