Late-in-Life Moms: A New Generation

by Beth K.Vogt

Any other Mommies-Come-Lately out there?
If you read the daily newspaper or recent women's magazines or watch the news, you know late-in-life moms are everywhere. Some have famous names like Julia Roberts or J. K. Rowlings. But most are like you and me--moms devoid of celebrity. We are part of the phenomena called "Mid-Life Moms."
Physicians have there own special label for moms who give birth when they are 35 years or older: Advanced Maternal Age (AMA). It's just another way of saying I'm old. Mid-life Moms can be first timers or repeaters. I'm a repeater. My original family plan was to be done having children when I turned 30. I accomplished that goal--and then 12 years later, my life slammed into reverse when I became pregnant at 41.
Lots of Mid-Life-Moms are experiencing motherhood for the first time--some by choice, some not. Many women pursued careers in their 20s and early 30s and then felt ready for motherhood. Some women were forced into AMA status because of infertility. Some by divorce.
When you look at the statistics, we represent a new generation of mothers:
The 2002 birth rate for women aged 35-39 years was 31 percent higher than in 1990.
The 2002 birth rate for women 40-44 years increased 51 percent since 1990.
So long, Baby Boomers and Gen-Xers. Say hello to the Mommies-Come-Lately Generation. We are pioneers on the frontier of late-in-life motherhood. I'd wager most of us want to be good moms--whether we decide to do that while staying at home or staying on the job.
With this blog, I'm sending up a flare, trying to catch the attention of other moms like me. I know you're out there. I've run into you at the grocery store, or your friend has told me about you, or you've called me on the phone and said, "Me, too"--not knowing if you want to laugh or cry. And, if Julia or J. K. wants to join in, why not? Motherhood tends to transcend celebrity status.
We're all just moms.