Factors Influencing Women’s Decisions About Timing of Motherhood

The experiences of pregnant women at an advanced maternal age: an integrative review

“…Therefore, they felt fulfilled in their role of mother (20)(21)24,26,(28)(29)31,34) and stated that this was one of the best events of their lives (20) , in addition to being a miracle to conceive at that age (21,30) . Whereas they felt more emotionally prepared, some women went through situations that destabilized them and felt uncomfortable in face of society for the fact that they got pregnant after the age of 35 and felt discriminated against for that reason (25,27,(34)(35) .…”

“…The themes that pertain to this category include the aspects that had led to postponing pregnancy, such as choosing the right partner to have a family with (23,25,32,(34)(35) , the search for financial stability (19,25,27,(32)(33)(34)(35) , and the maturity to conceive a child (19,23,(26)(27)(32)(33)(34)(35) . Women considered themselves more emotionally prepared (34) , more patient (26) , and prouder (29,32) for getting pregnant after the age of 35, considering it the ideal time for pregnancy.…”

“…To understand the experience of having a child at advanced maternal age; to investigate the care offered by health care professionals during pregnancy and the postnatal period from the perspective of older women Qualitative/ Quantitative/ Cross-sectional study 397 women who had children when above 35 years of age Many women said they had received good care by obstetric nursing professionals; others, however, felt their need for care had not been met or the support offered to them had not been adequate.…”

‘We thought if it’s going to take two years then we need to start that now’: age, infertility risk and the timing of pregnancy in older first-time mothers

“…As noted above we are aware of only one other study that looks at women's decision making in the timing of pregnancy across different age groups which was in a Canadian context (Benzies et al, 2006). These authors found that older mothers claimed that due to…”

“…One of the few studies which examines women's decision making in the timing of pregnancy considers decision-mking by different age groups in Canada (Benzies et al, 2006). They found that '[w]omen believed that current societal expectations for personal independence before childbearing makes older motherhood more acceptable and normative for their generation' (Benzies et al, 2006, p. 630).…”