In recent years the number of those giving birth in forties, often to first babies, has increased dramatically and it's in the news all the time: Iman and David Bowie, Cherie and Tone Blair, Emma Thompson, Michael Douglas, Victoria Wood John Humphrys, to name but a few. What used to be extraordinary is now being taken for granted to the extent that some women are actually deciding to wait until their forties to start a family.

But what is it really like to have a baby in your forties? What are the myths that linger and need to be challenged, and what are the realities and risks which should cause concern? In this positive, highly informative but very personal book, Corinne Sweet, herself a first-time mother in her forties, investigates this growing. Trend. Her research and interviews with many different women, and some men, Knock a lot of prejudice on the head while being honest about the risks and dangers. But in the end this is a positive book: there is no doubt that this trend will continue, that the span of age for giving birth will become even longer and that older mothers can be fitter, healthier and more contented than younger mothers. And so, indeed, can their babies!

 

Corinne Sweet is an agony aunt, counselor and life coach, who appears regularly on TV and radio, and publishes widely in national magazines and newspapers. Her previous books include Overcoming Addiction and Stop Fighting About Money. She is a member of the Writer's Guild, the British Association for Cunselling and Psychotherapy and the Eating Disorders Association. She lives in London with her husband and four-year-old daughter.