Is 33 too old to have a baby? Does it mean you’re an old mom?

I got pregnant at 33 and had my first child at 34. Like you, I worried. I did the calculations in my head about how old I’d be when my child was whatever years old. I made myself so self conscious.

Doctors at NYU where I gave birth basically laughed at me and said medically speaking I was young. When I’d fret about an imaginary problem to them, they’d exclaim with “you’re so young! You honestly have nothing to worry about”. Yet I worried ALL THE TIME and I’m so sorry I did. My pregnancy was uneventful-i felt great. It’s too bad I didn’t enjoy my pregnancy because I was so consumed with worry about being “old” and something possibly going wrong.

I’m 40 now and my child is 6. I remember complaining way back then “when my child is 6 I’ll be 40! Might as well be a grandma! Omg! Everyone will think I’m the old mom.”

That never happened, either. You see, doctors say the older you ARE able to conceive and carry to term, the slower your reproductive organs are aging. The slower your reproductive organs are aging, they say; the slower YOU are aging. No one looks at me funny or assumes I’m the grandma..but then again my mom looks so young for 61 no one thinks she’s my mom, either. It’s all about how well you take care of yourself in the end, whether you have co-morbidities, etc.

Have a child when YOU want to and when it feels right to YOU. Don’t worry about appearances.

I am a new mom of a baby boy who is two months old. I will turn 34 this year. Following was my experience:

I was quite worried about the time it may take time to conceive at the age of 33. From what I had heard it could have been 5–6 months. But fortunately I was able to conceive in a month. I thanked God (definitely) and my active lifestyle (used to work out at least 5–6 days a week). So age didn’t matter.

Pregnancy - It started off well with nausea hitting me pretty hard (believe me it is a good thing). I had no issues in my ultrasound. However, my doctor prescribed me a hormonal medicine (which is typically given if the mother is facing issues like bleeding, blood clots, low placenta, etc.). The reason she gave was that it is better to take precaution ‘at this age’. I did raise my concern to her about having medicine anticipating something may go wrong which went in vain. I am no doctor, however, I feel that it is not a good attitude. Age mattered.

During my second trimester, I had some complications and was on bed rest for a week. But it was a problem not at all related to age. So, age didn’t matter.

Now when my baby is a few months old, he keeps us up almost all day and all night, requires a lot of walking around (like during burping, etc). All of this needs a lot of energy, but at this age I feel more tired than I would have been in my 20’s. Thus, age matters.

I am on maternity leave right now. But honestly I miss going to work not only because I love my work but also because I have worked hard for all these years to reach wherever I am today. Letting it go hurts. This may not be a problem for younger people as they are typically starting out in their career and it’s easy to take a break then. Thus, age matters.

All in all, there will be situations when you feel that it might have been better if you had a baby early in your life. My funda - a) Things happen when they are supposed to happen; b) Believe in yourself and your body and c) Believe in the decisions you have taken in life.