While not the meat of the story, I was pi$$ed that as usual they try to make it sounds like having a baby over 35 is like playing Russian Roulette with your child's life.
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Thanks for posting. I didn't think the article was necessarily critical of women 35-45, but spotlighted 45+ pregnancies. To each their own, I say. Interestingly, the article mentions nothing of the uprise of (sometimes young, sometimes not) grandparents raising their grandchildren because of their children's various situations. Having love and energy for your children is all that matters.
"The University of Texas sociologist John Mirowsky has shown that the
perfect age for a woman to have a baby is 30.5. By that point, she has
finished her education and found an appropriate partner. She has the
maturity to be a good parent, with enough years ahead of her to have
more than one child without bumping up against the limits of her
fertility.
But a certain kind of woman?an ambitious woman?is just
getting started at that age. And a baby will cost her. There is a
direct, positive correlation between delaying childbirth and income
level. According to an analysis of census data by Elizabeth Gregory,
women with professional degrees who had their first child at 20 earned
$50,000 less per year than those who had their first child at 35."
Among my circle of school and work friends, this was the reality we faced. Get pregnant as a young associate and take yourself off the partnership track. Or, demonstrate how dedicated you were to the firm and your career by delaying starting a family. What none of us really understood was how much harder it would be to conceive in our mid-to-late 30's than in our late 20's.
JJ - Buried deep in the article there is an acknowledgement of the number of grandparents raising kids:
"The number of grandparents in America who have primary responsibility
for children rose 8 percent to 2.6 million people between 2000 and 2008,
according to the Pew Research Center. But they are not deemed unfit
caregivers simply on the basis of their age?on their ability to throw a
ball or stay up late. What?s more, the available science says that for
all the disdain directed at older mothers and fathers, their kids are
likely to fare just fine."
Re: New York Magazine - Mothers of a Certain Age
Very interesting artilce. Thanks for sharing
Have a wonderful weekend!
"The University of Texas sociologist John Mirowsky has shown that the perfect age for a woman to have a baby is 30.5. By that point, she has finished her education and found an appropriate partner. She has the maturity to be a good parent, with enough years ahead of her to have more than one child without bumping up against the limits of her fertility.
But a certain kind of woman?an ambitious woman?is just getting started at that age. And a baby will cost her. There is a direct, positive correlation between delaying childbirth and income level. According to an analysis of census data by Elizabeth Gregory, women with professional degrees who had their first child at 20 earned $50,000 less per year than those who had their first child at 35."
Among my circle of school and work friends, this was the reality we faced. Get pregnant as a young associate and take yourself off the partnership track. Or, demonstrate how dedicated you were to the firm and your career by delaying starting a family. What none of us really understood was how much harder it would be to conceive in our mid-to-late 30's than in our late 20's.
JJ - Buried deep in the article there is an acknowledgement of the number of grandparents raising kids:
"The number of grandparents in America who have primary responsibility for children rose 8 percent to 2.6 million people between 2000 and 2008, according to the Pew Research Center. But they are not deemed unfit caregivers simply on the basis of their age?on their ability to throw a ball or stay up late. What?s more, the available science says that for all the disdain directed at older mothers and fathers, their kids are likely to fare just fine."