Are you mum or grandma? Having a baby at 47

Mid-life is hard enough, but what happens when you add a baby to the mix? The average maternal age has been creeping up over the past twenty years, with more women than ever becoming first time mums in their 40s, delaying motherhood to build careers, travel, find the right partner, secure housing, or navigate infertility. Having a baby later in life can be exhausting. Sleep is elusive, many women are edging perimenopause and the risks to both mother and baby can increase. Then there's the judgement — the sideways looks, the inevitable question: are you the mum or the grandma? Yumi Stynes meets two first time mums who fell pregnant in their mid-40s to talk about the challenges and the joys of being an older mum. Plus women's health expert Dr Karin Hammarberg weighs in on the risks- and rewards- of waiting. This episode will answer questions like: Can I get pregnant after 40? Can you get pregnant when you're 45? Why do women delay getting pregnant? Should I wait to get pregnant? What are the chances of getting pregnant over 40? What is a geriatric pregnancy Is it harder to get pregnant after 40? What to listen to next: Surrogacy: why women carry babies for others — ABC listen Is your attachment style messing with your love life? — ABC listen Felicity Ward on motherhood, depression and a sexual rebirth — ABC listen Last shot pregnancy — ABC listen What to read next: Why these women have never had a partner — ABC News The surprising health benefits linked to having a baby at 35 and older — ABC News This episode contains references to pregnancy, dating, marriage, babies, toddlers, children, conception, TTC, sex, IVF, in vitro fertilisation, motherhood, donor eggs, maternity, parenthood, cancer, geriatric pregnancy, Advanced maternal age, pregnancy after 40, fertility after 40, Hilary Swank, Gisele Bundchen

You can listen to Are you mum or grandma? Having a baby at 47 online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Are you mum or grandma? Having a baby at 47 is an episode from Ladies, We Need To Talk.

This episode is 0:27:52 long.

This episode was published on May 4, 2026.

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