SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- Despite headlines of elderly mothers giving birth, U.S. fertility experts warn that putting off having children can be risky.
"The media spotlight on women giving birth in their 50s and 60s, especially among celebrities, can create the fallacy that there is no ticking clock and ultimately create heartache for women who wait too long to try to conceive," said Dr. Ramie Hinckley of the Reproductive Science Center of the Bay Area in San Francisco.
Women's focus on career development -- combined with advances in fertility medicine -- has produced higher-than-ever increases in the birth rates for older mothers. The birth rate for U.S. women ages 40 to 44 has more than doubled in the last 25 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
The American Society for Reproductive Medicine guidelines state the age limit for women who seek fertility treatment at the Reproductive Science Center is currently 51, says Hinckley.
Fertility decline begins at age 28, although women older than 35 run greater risk of complications during pregnancy and delivery, according to Hinckley.
