Emma Grede

Now, I know firsthand the joy of having a baby.

And sadly, I know the pain and the frustration and the anxiety of not being able to get pregnant.

Now, to be clear, I am absolutely not advocating for teen pregnancy, but I am suggesting that waiting until you're 38 isn't smart.

Thankfully, we have IVF and even surrogacy, which I was able to utilize for my twins.

But that shit is expensive and it's not for everybody.

As someone who employs countless women, I think there are three main reasons that women are choosing to get pregnant later in life.

Number one, we prefer to wait to further our careers.

Two, looking for the perfect partner.

And three, because parenting, what we think of as modern day parenting, has gone completely mad.

Now, if you put those three things together, here we are.

The average age of first-time mothers in the US is now 27 and a half.

In 1970, it was 21.

If you're college educated, it's even higher.

30 for women with a bachelor's degree and 33 if you have a professional degree, like according to the CDC.

Now, granted, many women are choosing not to have a baby.

It is not the be all and end all.

And for the record, I am not talking about

to those women.

I applaud and support any woman's choice.

I have so many happy and fulfilled friends who are just good being aunties.