4 Great Things About Advanced Maternal Age

I sat in the lobby, waiting on my daughter to finish her summer dance camp session. Two women sat next to me. They obviously knew each other outside of the dance studio and were chatting about their personal lives.

“Do you think you’ll have any more children?” said Woman A.

“No. I don’t want to be one of those women who is 38 and pregnant,” said Woman B.

I chuckled to myself. I was eight weeks pregnant with my second child, and 39 years old. I’ll be 40 by the time he is born. He was a planned baby, but it took a long time to conceive him. The same was true with my daughter. I didn’t have her until I was almost 37. This is not the way high-school-age Allison saw things going, but if things were different, I wouldn’t have these children – the children that I love so much.

Besides, being a mother of “advanced maternal age” is not all bad. Here are some of the great things that come with a “geriatric pregnancy,” along with the awesome labels on your medical chart.

1. You have the perfect excuse to get out of any and everything

By the time you hit 40, you’re not into as going out to every happy hour there is after work. You also don’t feel the need to go to every event opening, or even every birthday celebration. Now, instead of drudging your way through an event you really don’t want to go to, try to sound disappointed when you say, “I would, but this pregnancy has me so tired I really can’t make it.” No one will even question it.

2. People automatically think you’re younger when you’re pregnant

“What??? You’re 40? No way!!” 

It’s true. People will still assume you’re, at most, 32. If that’s not what they think, they certainly won’t say it out loud. Your pregnancy is the fountain of youth for the next few months, so enjoy!

3. You get to learn from your friends’ mistakes and successes

All of your friends have already had their babies. It seems like a bummer at first, but it’s not. As an older mom, you get to learn from them. What potty-training mistakes did they make? What finally got their babies to sleep at night? And most importantly, what is Baby Shark, and should you avoid it? If you’re lucky, these friends will also still have a bunch of baby stuff they’re ready to get out of their cluttered guest rooms, so you won’t have to buy as much stuff.

4. You get extra doctor’s appointments

Being older while pregnant automatically makes you a higher risk pregnancy. While this sounds scary, the bright side is you get extra doctor’s appointments. Extra appointments would be annoying at any other time, but when you’re pregnant you want as much care for you and your baby as possible.

You also get scheduled for extra ultrasounds (or at least I did), so more previews of your precious baby! In addition, the doctor may recommend an induction at week 39 (mine did). I am not a crunchy mom. I welcome the early birthday and the lessened uncertainty of when my son will arrive.

I feel really blessed. So far, this has been a pretty easy pregnancy, and the baby and I are doing well. Some of us get pregnant younger than expected, some of us later. No matter how young or old you are when you get pregnant, it should be a good experience for you. 

What would you add to this list?