THE COUNTRY THERE IS A MODERN BABY BOOM. WOMEN OVER 40 HAVING CHILDREN. SO ACCORDING TO THE CDC, IN 2023 MOMS OVER 40 GAVE BIRTH TO NEARLY 100,000 MORE BABIES THAN THEY DID IN 1990. SO 12 NEWS MALLORY ANDERSON SHARES ONE NEW MOM’S PERSPECTIVE. SHE’S RIGHT HERE ON GIVING BIRTH AT 42, AND THE RISKS AND REWARDS DOCTORS SAY AWAITS OLDER MOTHERS ONLY BROUGHT YOU FOR 43 YEAR OLD OLIVIA LOU. LIFE IS JUST GETTING STARTED IN MANY WAYS. WHO WE HAVE HERE. THIS IS MISS BERNADETTE AND HOW OLD IS SHE NOW? SHE IS SEVEN AND A HALF MONTHS OLD. WHILE OLIVIA CAN’T IMAGINE LIFE WITHOUT BABY BERNADETTE NOW, FOR A WHILE, SHE WASN’T EVEN SURE IF MOTHERHOOD WAS HER CALLING. I NEVER WAS SOMEONE WHO FELT LIKE I HAD TO BE A MOTHER. I ALWAYS FELT LIKE I WOULD REACH A POINT IN MY LIFE WHERE EITHER MADE SENSE OR IT DIDN’T. OLIVIA MARRIED HER HUSBAND AT AGE 37. THEN ON HER 40TH BIRTHDAY, SHE FELT IT WAS TIME TO TRY. AFTER TWO UNSUCCESSFUL ROUNDS WITH IN VITRO FERTILIZATION, SHE ENDED TREATMENTS. THREE MONTHS LATER, SHE GOT PREGNANT. NATURALLY, WE WERE BOTH PRETTY SHOCKED AND WE’RE LIKE, OKAY, WELL, OUR LIVES OFFICIALLY CHANGING. OLIVIA HAD A SMOOTH PREGNANCY, BUT A CHALLENGING EMERGENCY C-SECTION. THANKFULLY, BERNADETTE CAME OUT HEALTHY. PEOPLE WHO HAVE A BABY IN THEIR LATER YEARS OVER 35. THERE IS AN INCREASED RISK OF TROUBLE BECOMING PREGNANT, INCREASED RISK OF MISCARRIAGES, INCREASED RISK OF HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE OR DIABETES, BOTH RELATED TO PREGNANCY OR AS A PREEXISTING CONDITION. INCREASED RISK OF NEEDING A C-SECTION OR OF THE LABOR STOPPING DOCTOR WHO DELIVERED. BERNADETTE AT AURORA SAYS SHE’S SEEN AN UPTICK OF MOMS OVER 40 IN HER DELIVERY ROOM. THE MAJORITY HAVE MINIMAL COMPLICATIONS, AND MOST ARE GETTING PREGNANT WITHOUT IVF. I ALWAYS SAY THAT THE BEST TIME TO HAVE A BABY IS WHEN YOU ARE READY, AND THAT DOESN’T COME WITH AN AGE. DON’T LISTEN TO THE OUTSIDE PRESSURES. LISTEN TO WHAT’S INSIDE. YOU’LL KNOW WHEN YOU FEEL READY. AND THAT MIGHT BE IN YOUR EARLY 20S. FOR YOU, THAT MIGHT BE IN YOUR EARLY 40S FOR YOU. AND YOU’LL FIGURE IT OUT AND IT’LL WORK OUT. IN 1990, AROUND 50,000 BABIES WERE BORN TO MOMS OVER 40. IN 2023, THE CDC SAYS THAT NUMBER JUMPED TO NEARLY 150,000. I THINK IT SAYS A LOT FOR WOMEN TAKING CONTROL OF THEIR OWN LIVES AND WANTING TO HAVE A GOOD PARTNER, WANTING TO HAVE A GOOD CAREER AND WANTING TO BE IN A GOOD PLACE BEFORE THEY START THEIR FAMILIES, THEY SAY GOOD THINGS COME TO THOSE WHO WAIT, AND BABY BERNADETTE IS OBVIOUS PROOF.
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More moms choosing to have kids after turning 40
A Milwaukee woman shares her experience of becoming a mother at 42, highlighting the increasing number of women over 40 having children and the associated risks and rewards.
Updated: 7:00 PM CDT Jun 30, 2025
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Around the country there’s a modern baby boom: women over 40 having children. One new mom from Shorewood shares her perspective on giving birth at 42, and the risks and rewards doctors say awaits older mothers.For 43-year-old Ulviye Menekseoglu, her life is just getting started in so many ways. Menekseoglu gave birth to her first child at age 42. While she can’t imagine her life without baby Bernadette now, for a while she wasn’t sure if motherhood was her calling. “I never was someone who felt like I had to be a mother,” Menekseoglu said. “I always felt like I would reach a point in my life where it either made sense, or didn’t. Even after meeting my husband, he felt the same as me. Neither of us felt like we had to be parents to fulfill our lives.”When Menekseoglu got married at 37, the biological clock still wasn’t ticking that loudly in her head. But then, on her 40th birthday, she felt a nudge and decided to try IVF. After two exhausting rounds with no luck, she ended treatments. Three months after that, she got pregnant naturally.”We were both pretty shocked. And we’re like, OK, well, our lives are officially changing!” Menekseoglu said. Her pregnancy was smooth, but she required a challenging emergency C-section during delivery. Despite that, Bernadette was born healthy and happy. C-sections are one of several risks moms should consider when having kids later in life.”People who have a baby in their later years over 35, there is an increased risk of trouble becoming pregnant, increased risk of miscarriages, increased risk of high blood pressure or diabetes, both related to pregnancy or as a preexisting condition, increased risk of needing a C-section or of the labor stopping,” said Dr. Marie Forgie, an Aurora Health Care OBGYN who delivered Bernadette. Forgie has noticed more women over 40 in her delivery room, with most experiencing minimal complications and becoming pregnant naturally. “I always say that the best time to have a baby is when you are ready, and that doesn’t come with an age,” Forgie said. “Don’t listen to the outside pressures. Listen to what’s inside. You’ll know when you feel ready. And that might be in your early 20s for you, that might be in your early 40s for you. You’ll figure it out, and it’ll work out.”The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that in 2023, nearly 150,000 babies were born to mothers over 40, a significant increase from around 50,000 in 1990.”I think it says a lot about women kind of taking control of their own lives, and wanting to have a good partner, or wanting to have a good career, and wanting to be in a good place before they start their families,” Menekseoglu said.The option to freeze eggs is also becoming more popular, with Cedars-Sinai data showing a rise from about 17,000 eggs banked in 2020 to 29,000 in 2022.
Around the country there’s a modern baby boom: women over 40 having children. One new mom from Shorewood shares her perspective on giving birth at 42, and the risks and rewards doctors say awaits older mothers.
For 43-year-old Ulviye Menekseoglu, her life is just getting started in so many ways.
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Menekseoglu gave birth to her first child at age 42. While she can’t imagine her life without baby Bernadette now, for a while she wasn’t sure if motherhood was her calling.
“I never was someone who felt like I had to be a mother,” Menekseoglu said. “I always felt like I would reach a point in my life where it either made sense, or didn’t. Even after meeting my husband, he felt the same as me. Neither of us felt like we had to be parents to fulfill our lives.”
When Menekseoglu got married at 37, the biological clock still wasn’t ticking that loudly in her head. But then, on her 40th birthday, she felt a nudge and decided to try IVF. After two exhausting rounds with no luck, she ended treatments. Three months after that, she got pregnant naturally.
“We were both pretty shocked. And we’re like, OK, well, our lives are officially changing!” Menekseoglu said.
Her pregnancy was smooth, but she required a challenging emergency C-section during delivery. Despite that, Bernadette was born healthy and happy.
C-sections are one of several risks moms should consider when having kids later in life.
“People who have a baby in their later years over 35, there is an increased risk of trouble becoming pregnant, increased risk of miscarriages, increased risk of high blood pressure or diabetes, both related to pregnancy or as a preexisting condition, increased risk of needing a C-section or of the labor stopping,” said Dr. Marie Forgie, an Aurora Health Care OBGYN who delivered Bernadette.
Forgie has noticed more women over 40 in her delivery room, with most experiencing minimal complications and becoming pregnant naturally.
“I always say that the best time to have a baby is when you are ready, and that doesn’t come with an age,” Forgie said. “Don’t listen to the outside pressures. Listen to what’s inside. You’ll know when you feel ready. And that might be in your early 20s for you, that might be in your early 40s for you. You’ll figure it out, and it’ll work out.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that in 2023, nearly 150,000 babies were born to mothers over 40, a significant increase from around 50,000 in 1990.
“I think it says a lot about women kind of taking control of their own lives, and wanting to have a good partner, or wanting to have a good career, and wanting to be in a good place before they start their families,” Menekseoglu said.
The option to freeze eggs is also becoming more popular, with Cedars-Sinai data showing a rise from about 17,000 eggs banked in 2020 to 29,000 in 2022.
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