Are You Over 40 and Childless? Join the Club

Recently, my husband has been asking if perhaps we should consider adding another child to our family. I think he's been bit by the baby bug after seeing sonogram photos of my little sister's soon-to-be-born baby and is wishing for his own little girl.

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Seven years ago, our son was born and his birth was a literal miracle. I was 35-years-old and had been told that I would never have children and if by some chance I were able to conceive, the pregnancy would not make it to full term.

My pregnancy was absolutely terrifying and came with some massive heath complications but in the end, I was given a child I was told I would never have. I definitely experienced a high level of anxiety and right after my son was born, I couldn't imagine going through the daily terror all over again but now...

I admit, I have baby fever and would love to give our son a sibling but even though the ache in my heart is heavy, I just can't begin to imagine having another child, and a baby at that, at the age of 42.

I have the utmost respect for women who give birth over the age of 40 (my mother had her last child at the age of 44) but more and more women are stepping into their 40s childless and making the decision to remain that way.

In the 1970s, only ten percent of women in their 40s were childless. By 2006, that number increased to 20 percent and the percentage of childless women in their 40s only continues to grow.

Binghamton University researchers took a look at what might be causing more and more women to decide to remain childless and one of the research leads, David Hacker said, "a lot of it is delayed marriage and women getting started a little bit later in life."