If you’re in your mid-thirties and you have yet to have children, you may think you’ve lost your chance.
But this famous celebrity just shattered that stereotype with her big announcement and left women all around the world encouraged by her reminder.
And now, as many ponder her latest announcement, it has caused a great deal of back and forth controversy.
During a Redbook interview, Carrie Underwood was asked the infamous question “Do you want a big family?”
It could have been seen as a setup, knowing Carrie Underwood is 35 and only has one child.
But Underwood responded with a simple statement, that sent ripple effects.
Redbook reported:
“I’m 35, so we may have missed our chance to have a big family. We always talk about adoption and about doing it when our child or children are a little older. In the meantime, we’re lucky to be a part of organizations that help kids, because our focus right now in our lives is helping as many kids as possible.”
Underwood didn’t shy away from her age, and although she highlighted adoption, she didn’t shut the door to having more children either.
The common stereotype many women face is the notion that they can’t have children after the age of 35.
As if suddenly women are no longer able to conceive.
And as Mommy Underground recently reported, women are having babies later in life – and healthy babies at that!
Sure, it may be more difficult to get pregnant, but many women are having babies well into their mid-forties without problems.
Interestingly enough, shortly after Underwood’s interview, she announced she was pregnant with her second baby!
So why then would Underwood think it’s hard for women to get pregnant after 35?
Experts think she bought into the myth many women believe.
Parents reported:
“Dr. Juli Fraga, a San-Francisco-based psychologist specializing in women’s reproductive health, understands where Underwood is coming from, but wants to also offer a reality check.
“It’s normal to be concerned about later age pregnancy, and yet women at the age of 35 are generally healthy and can have babies,” says Fraga. “Even with fertility issues, there are many ways to help families have children, through IVF, donor eggs, or surrogacy,” she adds.
Dr. Fraga believes she knows why Underwood brought out the old trope about not being fertile after the age of 35. “She is probably responding more to the cultural message that women over 35 are no longer able to bear children which is not true. This pre-pregnancy-related anxiety about one’s fertility being finished is more of a worry than a reality.”
So ladies, have faith!
If you are in your 30s, or even 40s and have yet to have a baby, there is still a chance.
Make sure you don’t feed into the negative back and forth of tearing down women who decide to have children later in life.
It is critical women build up each other and support one another.
While some women have children in their early twenties, and others don’t until later in life – that’s okay!
Every woman has her own journey and has a different story.
Perhaps a woman didn’t meet her husband till later in life.
Or maybe after trying desperately for years with trying to conceive, and being unsuccessful, adoption was the only option.
Carrie Underwood’s story is a beautiful reminder to all women – with God, anything is possible.
Do you think women in their 30s can have healthy babies?
Why do you think so many women think they can’t have a baby once they hit 35?
Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.
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