When I told friends and family at the age of 34 that I'd be having a baby around my 35th birthday, I heard their gasps, both audible and not.  It's an age old thought that women over the age of 35 have a harder time with pregnancy and more complications and while this can be true, it's not always the case.

After being told that I probably wouldn't be able to have a baby, I was completely shocked to learn that I was pregnant just a month after getting married. And, because I'd been told horror stories of being pregnant over the age of 30, I was really worried, but my doctor assured me that it was fine and that he'd take good care of me and my baby.

They say that 40 is the new 30 and I guess that's true because the number of babies born to women 45 and older has actually tripled in the past 20 years and what's more is that the average age of first-time moms has gone up in every single state in the country.

"This is no blip. This is a seismic shift. There is no question," social psychologist Susan Newman told CBS News. "I think the opening up of careers and jobs for women, actually paved the way more than anything else."

Dr. Joanne Stone, director of Maternal Fetal Medicine at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York City also told CBS News, "Everybody's older. If you have somebody that's 28, it's like a teen pregnancy."

I know there are arguments for every side, but as a woman who never thought she'd have a family of her own, I see my son as a blessing and I wouldn't change having him in my life for anything in the world.

[via CBS News]

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