Best Age to Have a Baby

No one age to have a baby is perfect for everyone. Many couples know what age they would like to start a family. Some individuals want to start family young, whereas other people want to wait until they are older. This decision could be due to career choices, money, and so on.

However, for some individuals, it may happen sooner or later than they originally planned. If you want to wait to have a baby, then contraception is highly recommended. Widespread contraception is available, from the contraceptive pill to condoms. This allows for families to have more control and a better idea of when they would like to start a family.

Your body is most fertile in your teenage years. However, even though a 16-year-old’s body may be physically ready to have a baby, the rest of the teenager may not be. Having a baby creates huge stress, physically, emotionally, mentally, and financially.

Having a baby in your 20s

Sometimes having a baby younger is frowned upon by society. However, if you were to have a baby and start a family in your twenties, it is, in fact, when you are most fertile and have the best chance of becoming pregnant. It’s during this period when you still have most of your eggs.

If you are thinking of starting a family in your 20s, then your chances of conceiving after the first three months are around 20 percent.

Having a baby in your 30s

Having a baby in your 30s is still completely fine, and many people do have baby’s in their 30s. However, when you reach the age of 32, your fertility will slowly start to decline. Between the ages of 35 to 37, a woman’s fertility starts to decline more rapidly. This is due to only having around 25,000 eggs left in your body, which is a massive reduction to the 1 or 2 million eggs you have when you are a teenager.

Having a baby in your mid-30s also poses risks to your baby, such as genetic abnormalities. More complications may also arise when giving birth to your baby if you decide to have a child later in life.

If you still want a baby in your mid to late 30s, it’s fine. Doctors may just have to do extra screening tests and checks to ensure that everything is okay with your baby.

Having a baby in your 40s

There is a major decline in a woman’s chances of getting pregnant naturally when they reach the age of 40.

This happens because, over time, the number of your eggs, and the quality of them, decline. But this is just a natural process of life. As you get older, your eggs also age, which increases the chance of your eggs having chromosome problems. Ultimately, this increases the chances of your baby being born with a congenital disability.

If you are in your 40s and are still wanting a child, you can still conceive naturally and have a healthy pregnancy and baby. However, having a child at this age poses some risks. These risks include having to have a C-section delivery, stillbirth, and premature birth.

As you reach the age of 40, medical conditions can become more common as you get older. Medical conditions, such as diabetes, are more common in women after the age of 35. This can lead to complications in your pregnancy, such as gestational diabetes.

Are you ever too old to have a child?

If you are still ovulating, you can have a child until you reach menopause. You should be able to conceive naturally. However, if you are struggling to get pregnant later in life, you may have to consider routes such as surrogate, IVF, or adoption.

Advances in fertility treatment have made becoming a parent in your 40s and 50s much easier, and it gives women who want a baby the possible chance too.

So, what age is best to have a baby?

It’s entirely up to you. You and your partner may want a baby in your 20s, or you may want to wait until you’re in your mid-30s. The late teenage years or your early 20s are the best ages to have a baby biologically. This is due to your body having good quality eggs and when your reproductive system being at its best.

Also, if you have a baby younger, you are less likely to have any serious health problems, which will pose less of a risk for your baby during your pregnancy. In your 20s, you are also less likely to experience tragic events when you are pregnant such as miscarriages, ectopic pregnancies, and stillbirth. Even though having a baby in your 20s seems like the best time, you may have a tough time when it comes to people in society.

When you feel like it’s the right time to have a baby, it is. Only the person themselves knows when that right time is. It all depends on your situation. As long as you are happy with the decision, then that’s all that matters. However, you should always consider the risk factors to ensure that the decision you’re making is the right one.

There is no ‘best’ age to have a baby. Whenever you feel the time is right. Furthermore, take into consideration how your decision may impact your baby’s health and lifestyle