When you were younger, you probably thought a lot about NOT getting pregnant and it probably never struck you that getting pregnant isn't always easy.
In fact with only a few days every month when getting pregnant is even possible, it's a miracle that anyone ever gets pregnant!
Kasey Edwards went for a routine appointment with her gynaecologist and left, having been told she was probably going to be infertile before the year was out. And she soon found out that this is not an unusual occurence.
So what happens if you decide you are ready for a baby - you have a house, a relationship and a reasonable salary - but suddenly find out that you've left it too late? You find out that your eggs are too old or that they are rejecting your partner's sperm or your cycle is so irregular that you have no idea when you're going to be ovulating?
Or maybe your mother and everyone else you know insist it's the right time for a baby but you're not sure. What if you have a baby only to discover that you preferred your life before? Would that be worse than not having a baby and risking a lifetime of regrets?Fertility and Conception• The best age to have a baby is between 20 and 35, according to the president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Dr Tony Falconer
• By 25, women have lost 80% of the eggs they were born with; by 35, that has dropped to a 95% loss
• A 30-year-old woman who wants to get pregnant, stands a 22% chance of being successful during any given month. By 35, it has dropped to 18%. By 40, it's 5%. By 45, there's only a slight 1% chance
• Male infertility is also rising. Almost half of all assisted reproductive procedures are conducted because of male infertility. After age 35 male sperm shows signs of increased DNA damage, increasing the risk of miscarriage, congenital heart problems, dwarfism, lower IQs, Down syndrome and autismMotherhood• Between 50 and 80 per cent of women with young children suffer severe emotional stress of a regular basis
• After the birth of her first child, a woman's domestic workload increases by 91 per cent to an average of 55 hours and 48 minutes per week. Her partner's workload doesn't increase at all.
• Women who take more than one year off to have children experience a persistent wage gap, even after they return to the workforce
Kasey looks at fertility, conception, being a Mum and other things too with humour and honesty in her new book, 'Thirty Something and the Clock is Ticking'.
She speaks to people who say that motherhood is the best thing they've ever done, and women who say it's the worst. She discovers how the desire for a baby can drive people to the brink of insanity; the logistical challenges of ovulating and trying to conceive on a long-haul flight; the indignity and despair of IVF; and the price of sperm on the internet.
30-Something and The Clock is Ticking by Kasey Edwards, is a witty book which will make you laugh, cry and think about the joys and regrets of motherhood.
Read reviews, find information and Buy Now from Amazon
May 2011 | 
30 Something and the Clock is Ticking
