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Parenting

05th Apr 2019

We asked you what age did you have your first baby and the response was amazing

Melissa Carton

There are lots of articles out there telling women what is the best age to have their first child.

I gave birth to both of my children in my twenties but most Irish mums are aged 30 and over when having their first child.

There are many pros and cons to being a younger or older mum and to be honest there is no ‘right’ time. Everyone is different and what works for one person doesn’t necessarily work for another.

With this in mind I decided to put a question out to the HerFamily community and find out what age mums in Ireland had their first baby at.

I posted on Wednesday and asked ‘How old were you when you had your first child?’ and I was blown away by the responses.

Within a couple of hours there were over 700 responses and I went on an emotional roller coaster from laughing to being on the brink of tears with your stories.

There was a wide span of ages with some mums saying that they first gave birth in their twenties all the way to some mums having their first baby in their late forties.

“Age 24 I had twin girls, now they are 24.”

“17, 19, 21, 24, 27, 28, 30, 35, 39. Happiest days of our lives with 9 healthy and happy children now all grown up.”

“40, after 4 rounds of IVF.”

One thing that I thought was particularly lovely were the comments left by women who are currently trying for their first baby. Many wrote that seeing so many mums say that they had their first babies in the late thirties and forties gave them hope that it would happen for them soon.

Seeing so many mums chatting and supporting each other in the comments is one of the reasons that I love working for HerFamily. Our community is filled with so many incredible parents always ready to reach out and help a fellow parent.

Thank you to all the mums who sent in your responses, it was wonderful to get to know you all a little.