Comments on: Old age parenthood: fine for men but wrong for women – why?

By: Wendy

Wendy — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 06:19:55 +0000

I agree with what you say – I was merely questioning societies attitudes towards aging parents. I see nothing wrong with a woman in her fifties becoming a mother in fact my great-grandmother had her last, and 13th, child at the age of 51 with no ill-effects whatsoever. She lived until she was 94 so her daughter had her mum well into her own forties. I do disagree strongly with IVF being given to those very elderly women in India – 71 years old for a first baby is simply ridiculous and that woman is now dying as a result of complications from that pregnancy. This has nothing to do with her being ‘wrinkled’ and nobody’s idea of a ‘glowing pregnant woman’ but the fact that a 70 year old body is not going to do the job of carrying a baby any where near that of a younger woman. The baby she had was sickly and underweight – like she was before she began her IVF. I also think that nature deemed some women’s bodies NOT to carry a pregnancy and to force that body into pregnancy through endless rounds of IVF and other intervention is irresponsible and asking for trouble.

By: JLM

JLM — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 00:17:38 +0000

When 100 years old becomes a natural normal life span then perhaps I would agree that a 70 year old woman is within her right to have a baby. Also, if a 60 year old woman had a 25 year old husband like the male celebs mentioned have 25 year old wives I would say go for it. Most 20 year old guys do not want to date that old of a woman .
In this economy what pair in there 60′s could even afford to pay for the IVF and the cancers that may result? Not just the mothers, but the babies too. IVF children suffer from a rare genetic syndrome called wiedlemans? at 6 times the rate of the typical child? That means everyones taxes go up! It also means the child could be dieing, loose both there parents and be in poverty there whole life.
If even one young kid has to go through this for a woman in her 60′s to have her dream come true then I would have to say there should be an age limit. Also, if poor elderly women can not have access then nether should rich ones. Many of them are just as worthy to be moms but can not afford to outright buy an egg.
BTW, those donor eggs in some countries like Hungary and Bosnia are perchase from under aged girls parents. The girl then may never be able to have her own baby. Is that fair? Don’t believe it? There is a youtube video about it from a Russian news agency.

By: Arnold

Arnold — Sun, 17 May 2009 22:18:43 +0000

Also worth noting is that in the 1800s when average life expectancy for people was around 35, they were dying of old age at that age. However, that’s the “natural” lifespan for humans.

Although men may well produce sperm until they are well over 60, I suspect that viagra has an effect on the production of children from those men at the older end of the age range. Thus, whilst the sperm might in principle be around, the viagra surely makes it an “un-natural” reproduction, doesn’t it?

That said, the issue surely is not so much whether or not the reproductive process was “natural” (which strictly speaking would mean one that never involved doctors or hospitals ie there are next to no “natural” births in the civilised world) but whether or not the parents will be around long enough to give their offspring a good start in life. If one takes the lifespan of 35 as the “natural” one and with conception around 15 (typical in the 1800s) then 20 years would seem to be the “natural” period of support for one’s offspring. Therefore in that a 60 year old can reasonably expect to live into their 90s that seems to be fine as would conception into the early 70s. Yes, that probably sounds “un-natural” but then life spans over 90 aren’t “natural” either. And, of course, there are women who are still naturally fertile into their 60s already so any assistance to other women who aren’t fertile quite so long is merely giving them equality with those who are.

In some ways this can only get “worse” in the decades to come as the gradual increase in life-expectancy seems sure to continue for quite some time. Those in their 50s can already expect to clear 100 and the only potential show-stopper would seem to be that we currently use around 10% of our brain over our lifetime which would imply an absolute upper limit of getting on for 1000 (don’t expect anyone to live that long anytime soon though!).

By: Wendy

Wendy — Sun, 17 May 2009 21:53:06 +0000

It was also unnatural for women to live beyond the menopause at one stage; humans actually have the same life expectancy of a chimpanzee – it has been changes in social infrastructure that has seen humans live to the age of 70,80 and 90 today. In many countries the life expectancy of men and women is still 35/40. The simple act of doctors starting to wash their hands between patients back in the late 19th century saw people surviving illness and operations – it was not the introduction of antiseptics, just basic improvement in hygiene. People living to 100 in the 19th century was unnatural – today many can expect to do so.

Already we have people starting to live to be 120 and the oldest person in the world was a woman who died recently at the age of 130 – who ever would have thought such a thing would happen? this will happen more often over the next century and beyond. So what will be the fuss about a woman having a baby at the ‘young’ age of 60??? -none, it will not be an issue in the future.

Many concepts that were ‘unnatural’ even 50 years ago are perfectly ‘natural’ today. I can see a time when women will be able to choose if, or when, they become menopausal. There are many things we humans do that we were not evolved to do but now can due to medical ‘intervention’ and changes in social and environmental factors.

By: hot-flash

hot-flash — Sun, 17 May 2009 19:58:09 +0000

I don’t think society is uncomfortable with fertility and older women being combined. In fact the opposite. There are many 40 something first time mothers around who, mind you, conceived without assistance.

It is natural for a ovulating woman to conceive. It is natural for a man at any age to inseminate an ovulating woman.

It is not natural for a post menopausal woman to conceive. It is entirely unnatural and that is what people react to. Doing the unnatural.