How old is too old to have kids? 50+ year old pregnant woman on cover on NY mag

[Liberal_in_LA]

I think the woman is at least 60

How old is too old to have kids?



A naked pregnant woman appears on the cover of this month’s New York magazine. She proudly shows off motherhood in the famous Demi Moore pose, one hand curved over her breasts, the other cradling her swollen belly.

But this mom-to-be doesn’t have flawless skin or dark brown hair as the Hollywood actress did when she bared all on the cover of Vanity Fair in 1991. This woman’s skin is wrinkly and her hair silvery gray. She’s over 50 years old, and her pregnant belly is enormous.

Shocking? Maybe, not so much. Women are waiting to have babies these days. We all have a friend or a friend of a friend who gave birth at 45 or 50 or even older. We read about the British woman who got pregnant at 66 and saw the photos of a pregnant 47-year-old Kelly Preston (though she looked as if she could have been 37).

New York magazine tackles this trend and proves that it isn’t only based on anecdotes. There’s all sorts of data to support it. The average age of a first-time mom is rising. In the U.S. it’s gone up from 21 to 25 since 1970. In New York State it’s 27. What’s more, while birthrates have gone down by 4 percent among women overall, they’ve risen by 17 percent among women ages 45 to 49.

The story focuses on women who are 50ish and thanks to advances in reproductive technology it’s all very possible to get pregnant even if you’re in the midst of menopause.

http://blog.sfgate.com/sfmoms/2011/09/28/how-old-is-too...