Want to Have a Baby in Your 60s? (Research, Video 2:58)

Are you age 50 or over and thinking about getting pregnant or fathering a child? If so, you are among an increasing number of older adults considering and making that choice. Are you planning to start a new family or extend a current one? According to AARP on births by older mothers in 2013, an average of 13 children were born every week to mothers 50 and older. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that births by women ages 50 to 54 rose by more than 165 percent from the year 2000 (255 births) to 2013 (677 births). Most women used donor eggs fertilized by sperm and implanted in a womb. This process is known as in vitro fertilization (IVF).

Not that it should affect your decision, but how do you think your family and friends would react if you had a baby this late? Would they be happy and supportive that you have chosen this new direction in your life?  Or would they think you are too old to be effective parenting a child at this stage in your life when you should be taking it easy and certainly not taking on unnecessary medical risks for both you and your child. Complications such as hypertension, diabetes, organ damage, genetic defects, etc. are real, but good health and care can go a long way toward successful results.  After all, people are living longer and taking better care of themselves.

Some people think the government should have pregnancy limits on age in case older parents die before children are able to take care of themselves. Do you think it's fair for taxpayers to pay for raising your child? While everyone may not approve of your reasons or even the technology of the procedure itself, the decision ultimately belongs to you.

This CNN news video features a 60 year-old mother who may be the oldest in America to deliver twins. She and her husband have been married for 38 years and also have adult children and a younger child.

Frances Shani Parker, Author

Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes is available in paperback and e-book editions in America and other countries at online and offline booksellers.

Hospice and Nursing Homes Blog

Sperm Retrieval From Terminally Ill or Recently Deceased Patients

Requests for sperm retrieval from terminally ill or recently deceased patients continue to increase along with controversy. Major reasons for this increase are the success and acceptance of techniques that assist reproduction such as in vitro fertilization. These requests are accompanied by several concerns regarding legal, ethical, and financial issues. Two areas of controversy involve consent for the retrieval of sperm and the validity of family consent. Obviously, family members and healthcare providers need some form of medical protocol to resolve the ongoing controversy that is not going away.

Some feel that men themselves, particularly those about to get married or enter into a similar relationship, can resolve problems related to consent by addressing retrieval of their sperm in advance in the same way a living will is handled. By documenting their wishes before a need occurs, sperm retrieval can take place during the terminal illness or recently after death. This research by the University of Maryland Medical Center examines sperm retrieval from terminally ill or recently deceased patients.

What do you think about this ongoing debate?

Frances Shani Parker, Author
"Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes”
“Hospice and Nursing Homes Blog”