Now advancements mean that women can bear children up to age 80. It changes all the options of a woman deciding when to have a child in her life. Now for more women it is a case of never say never. Women are always busy defining themselves, educating themselves and trying to go up that corporate ladder just like men but they also have to budget their time in order to make and care for a child if she wants to include that in her lifetime. Is there a biological clock anymore? I don’t think so.

Many career driven women wait till their 40’s to have a child. By then they are educated, certified as something, has some money and hopefully a man who she wants his seed but we don’t even really need him anymore; there are   donor catalogs to choose his genes from.  There are still concerns for any woman age 40 having children for both them and the child’s   safety. Nationwide the number of children born to women age 45 and over has more than tripled in the past two decades. The average age for first-time pregnancy has also climbed in every state of the country. We can blame this trend on the better opportunities that have opened up for women in the workplace. Women are now staying in school and trying to get and are getting that better job.

The biggest change has been in the attitude of women about raising their children. Sure we would all like to be home to see the baby’s first step or first words but losing a job and pension and then having years later social security give you nothing for the years you stayed home raising your own child  just is not worth it. Women have careers and now pursue them and no longer give their career up. Waiting till you are 40 does have risks. One in 5 couples who are over 40 usually have to face infertility. For those who do have a chance then they have to worry that one in   50 chance that the fetus will have a chromosome abnormality, translation the kid can be retarded, slow whatever, just not normal.

For older women they can also develop diabetes and   high blood pressure during pregnancy. Premature birth and or still birth is also a problem for the older woman. But with advances in medicine, these problems are also becoming manageable. The odds of conceiving are also manageable. The ways to conceive doesn’t necessarily involve him anymore. Yes, all the fun isn’t necessary. Besides sex there is insemination, invertor fertilization, frozen eggs or even donor eggs. Assisted reproductive medicine has more than tripled in the past 2 decades. It can cost tens of thousands of dollars and is not always covered by your insurance.

Despite all these ways to get pregnant now the size of the American family is getting smaller.