A Mersey mum who gave birth in her 30s believes we should celebrate mature parenting.
Liz Clifton, who had a child in her 30s, told MerseyNewsLive: “I believe that being a mature parent helped me to approach parenting my two youngest daughters with more patience and understanding.”
Her comments come as it was revealed the average age of women giving birth in England has risen to 30.9 years for a woman, and 33.7 years for men. The age of mature mothers has risen since 2021.
Many believe having children later on in life may have benefits to navigating the child-birth challenges due to more life-experiences and maturity.
“I had personally experienced more in life which helped me navigate post-natal depression with more ease than I would have done in my younger parenting days.”
Laurie Riihimaki, who is also a mature mother, believes one of the reasons mature parenting has become more popular in recent years is the economy.
She said: “Buying a car, a house, getting married, everything takes longer because of the expense of it all.
“College also gets in the way of becoming a parent at a young age, as goals over the years have changed.
“I couldn’t imagine if I had become a parent in my early 20s. I had no idea who I was compared to now, and I was able to take these ten years or so and build a solid career, get married, buy a house, and get all my sillies out before becoming a parent.”
“I’ve been able to support them to listen to themselves and check in with their feelings more than with my eldest two daughters who I gave birth to in my early twenties,” she said.
you will fall pregnant at the perfect time for you
However, despite the timing being right for Liz she admits you will fall pregnant at the perfect time for you, and should work around both partners’ wishes.
She added: “Even if it doesn’t feel like perfect timing to begin with one day you’ll find an important life lesson in there for the timing of your children.
“Trust yourself, your body, your intuition and your feelings because they absolutely matter always.
“And whenever you start your journey into parenthood, seek out and draw on the love and support of those around you.”
Laurie, advised you should live in the moment and not worry about declining health with age as health concerns can come at any age and be overcome or worked around.
