Is Halle Berry Too Old to Have a Baby?

Actress Halle Berry of Monster’s Ball and X-Men fame is three months pregnant with her second child. She’s also 43 years old.

Berry, who had her first child at age 41, has been hoping for another child with her boyfriend, model Gabriel Aubry. Almost three dozen pregnancy tests later, she’s finally happily expecting once again.

Berry isn’t alone. More and more women are waiting to have their children later in life. There are a lot of benefits for those who wait; they often have a more stable income, are ready to “settle down,” and have maybe even found the mate of their dreams. They may also feel more ready for a baby, with much more life experience to draw upon and perhaps a greater support network at hand. And since many young mothers are also working hard at new jobs or attending school, older mothers may even have more time to devote to their little ones.

Then again, it also has its drawbacks. The older you are, the more your fertility will generally decline. Pregnancy risks increase as you age, as well; older women have a larger risk of vaginal bleeding, preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, placenta previa, placental abruption and miscarriage. I was shocked to learn that while a woman in her 20s may have a 12 to 15% risk of miscarriage, a women 40 and older have a 25% risk.

There are also more dangers to a child in a late-in-life pregnancy. Babies are more likely to have chromosomal abnormalities, such as Down syndrome, as well as low birth weight and prematurity.

Taking care of a child also requires a lot of energy; chasing after a five-year-old may be harder in your forties or fifties that it is in your twenties. There’s also the fact that your graduating child may have a mother or father the age of his or her friends’ grandparents at his graduation—which is not necessarily a bad thing, but it does mean that there’s a higher risk of not getting to know your possible grandkids.

But plenty of women have had healthy pregnancies resulting in perfect little babies later in their lives. It’s definitely a personal choice on whether or not to have kids later in life, but with the risks involved, would you do it?

Personally I know I wouldn’t, but that’s because I’ve already suffered pregnancy complications that put my life at risk—and now that I have a daughter, there’s no way I’d want to risk dying and leaving her motherless. I’d love to hear what everyone else thinks, and if you would consider a late in life pregnancy—or if you’ve had one yourself—or not.

Halle, we wish you luck with your pregnancy!