Having a baby young or older, when is best?
Is there really a right time to have a baby?
I think deciding when to have a baby is such a personal thing and everyone will have their own idea of when is best, taking their own situation into consideration.
I’m also aware that many people struggle with conceiving, so even though they may want to have a baby whilst they are young, it may not happen that way.
Having had personal experience of having a baby at 18 and 37, for me, there were pros and cons to each.
At 18 I found the pregnancy easy. I had lots of energy and even got through the sleepless nights ok after my son was born. Trying to get through my studies and start my career however, was challenging with a baby in tow! I remember taking my son into class on a few occasions in his car seat and was fortunate enough to have support from my parents as I lived at home for a while. This meant I was able to have a bit of a social life whilst raising my child.
Having a baby a 37 did take more of a toll on my body; I was extremely tired, developed gestational diabetes, severe back pain and heart palpitations, but I was much more secure in terms of my relationship, career and life experience in general. I struggled more with waking at night to feed the baby but this may have also been due to the fact that I had several other children to care for at this point!
Despite all of this, giving birth as an 18 year old and as a 37 year old was pretty straightforward. In fact, the last birth was probably the easiest and quickest!
This is just my experience though and does not represent everyone else.
I always said that if I could merge the wisdom that came with being older, along with the physical attributes of being younger, that would have been the perfect time to have a baby for me!
What are your thoughts and experiences of the ‘best’ time to have a baby?
This post is by @midwifemarley
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