Older mothers

Older mothers – the never ending debate! New data out shows that the oldest mother to give birth in Australia was 60yrs. old.!! Obviously not her eggs, but did grow and birth (unsure but probably caesarean section). How old is too old? there are so many questions to ask – the most important is thinking about the baby. What is fair for the baby? One needs sooo much energy for small people. I have an 8yr old grandson (and I am a relatively young grandmother) and that can be exhausting. I had him for a week last school holidays, and we had lots of fun, but at the end of the week I was very happy to hand him back to his Mum and enjoy a quiet coffee with uninterrupted reading of the newspaper. I have been there and done that with my own children and now do appreciate ‘my time’. Is that the same for a 60yr old who has never had children? It is impossible to explain the constancy of parenting and the physical, mental, emotional exhaustion that goes along with that. We do need to have some responsibility in thinking about the needs of a child and what is best for them. At 60yrs. of age there is certainly a wealth of life experience. Those parents who are in there 20’s don’t have that but do have boundless energy and enthusiasm to share and a willingness to learn. What do you think?