Are you mum or grandma? Having a baby at 47
5/4/202628 min
Mid-life is hard enough, but what happens when you add a baby to the mix?
The average maternal age has been creeping up over the past twenty years, with more women than ever becoming first time mums in their 40s, delaying motherhood to build careers, travel, find the right partner, secure housing, or navigate infertility.
Having a baby later in life can be exhausting. Sleep is elusive, many women are edging perimenopause and the risks to both mother and baby can increase. Then there's the judgement — the sideways looks, the inevitable question: are you the mum or the grandma?
Yumi Stynes meets two first time mums who fell pregnant in their mid-40s to talk about the challenges and the joys of being an older mum.
Plus women's health expert Dr Karin Hammarberg weighs in on the risks- and rewards- of waiting.
This episode will answer questions like:
- Can I get pregnant after 40?
- Can you get pregnant when you're 45?
- Why do women delay getting pregnant?
- Should I wait to get pregnant?
- What are the chances of getting pregnant over 40?
- What is a geriatric pregnancy
- Is it harder to get pregnant after 40?
What to listen to next:
Surrogacy: why women carry babies for others — ABC listen
Is your attachment style messing with your love life? — ABC listen
Felicity Ward on motherhood, depression and a sexual rebirth — ABC listen
Last shot pregnancy — ABC listen
What to read next:
Why these women have never had a partner — ABC News
The surprising health benefits linked to having a baby at 35 and older — ABC News
This episode contains references to pregnancy, dating, marriage, babies, toddlers, children, conception, TTC, sex, IVF, in vitro fertilisation, motherhood, donor eggs, maternity, parenthood, cancer, geriatric pregnancy, Advanced maternal age, pregnancy after 40, fertility after 40, Hilary Swank, Gisele Bundchen
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsYumi Stynes· Host0:00
[whimsical music] Why do humans hold on to stuff? Oddments we don't use, and yet can't quite throw out. It's not just you and me. Australia's oldest library is crammed with stuff that isn't books. Terrible paintings, old menus, human hair. Is this history or hoarding? I'm Annabelle Crabb. Come and have a rummage through the story of us told by our stuff. Search for the History or Hoarding podcast on ABC Listen or wherever you get your podcasts. [upbeat music] ABC Listen, podcasts, radio, news, music, and more.
Zoe· Guest0:35
[gentle music] There's a lot of stigma and feedback around older moms.
Heather· Guest0:42
That lady said to me, "Are you mom or grandma?"
Karin Hammarberg· Guest0:45
As we age, we do have more risk of common chronic conditions.
Zoe· Guest0:51
You've worked harder than anything in your entire life to get this child into the world. It doesn't matter how old you are.
Karin Hammarberg· Guest0:57
I think life experience helps you overcome difficulties. It's really the joy of seeing a, a new life, and it's good fun. Hard work, but good fun.
Yumi Stynes· Host1:06
[upbeat music] Making and looking after a whole-ass human child is the hardest, most continuous and thankless work of all the works. It takes grit, saint-like patience, a shit ton of financial resources, and a stoic approach to poo.
Unknown speaker1:29
[laughs]