As more and more women in the UK delay motherhood and the average age of women giving birth is on the increase, Panorama asked just when is the right time to have a baby.
The number of women having babies in their forties has doubled over the last decade. But as women leave it later the chances of having a child drop dramatically. Recent Office For National Statistics figures reveal that at least one in five women in the UK are, or will remain, childless.
One of the country's leading fertility experts, Professor Bill Ledger, says women who put it off are taking a gamble: "Most couples ... will have a pregnancy if they decide to try at, say, 35 - but if they wait until they're 40 or over, the majority will have problems."
Panorama asked whether women are losing the battle to have it all, and whether the struggle to establish a career, financial security and find the right partner before starting a family has just become too difficult.
Falling birth rates are a Europe-wide problem and if the EU population continues to decline the impact will be dramatic in political, social and economic terms.
The UK government's only explicit population policy is to halve the rate of teenage pregnancies. In Sheffield's maternity hospital and assisted conception unit, over the period of a month, Panorama met mums-to-be and spent time with one woman who is desperate to conceive.
Ashleigh became pregnant at 17 and has now had her baby. She believes women should have babies young and asks why she should be criticised when she's likely to be more hands-on than many older, working mums.
Starting a family is still considered a personal preference but when the majority of countries in the EU have below replacement fertility, Panorama questioned whether the government should be adopting a more aggressive pro-birth policy. | 
Mums And Their Friends
