Mums get an early warning (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Mums get an early warning

WOMEN must be aware of the risks if they put off having children until their 30s and 40s, according to Swindon doctors.

Experts warned yesterday that women were defying nature and putting their health and that of their baby at risk by delaying starting a family.

Dr Peter Swinyard, of the Phoenix Surgery in Toothill, said the problem was society had changed but people had not.

"There are a lot of pressures on women to be successful career people and so not take maternity breaks," he said.

"But, unfortunately, biology hasn't changed as well.

"Once you are 35 you are at increased risk of not getting pregnant, of miscarrying if you do and of having genetic abnormalities.

"From a purely biological point of view it is still best for people to get pregnant between 20 and 35. I think people need to be aware of these issues."

Dr Kandy Kandiah, of the Sparcells Surgery, agreed.

"It is a medical and social problem," he said.

"Everybody wants to work all the time. But as a woman gets older the quality of her eggs declines."

Doctors writing in the British Medical Journal have blamed society, employers and health planners for encouraging women to delay motherhood to focus on their careers and achieve financial stability.