Advanced Maternal Age — How Old Is Too Old?

The past decade has seen a remarkable shift in the demographics of childbearing in the United States. The number of first births per 1000 women 35 to 39 years of age increased by 36 percent between 1991 and 2001, and the rate among women 40 to 44 years of age leaped by a remarkable 70 percent. In 2002, 263 births were reported in women between 50 and 54 years of age. Most media attention paid to older moms has been favorable, inspiring a female business-school student to declare on a nationally televised segment of CBS's 60 Minutes (entitled "The Biological . . .