Our society tends to have an outdated opinion as it pertains to motherhood . The prevailing notion is that if a woman hasn’t had children by her mid-20s, she shouldn’t have them at all.
But the fact of the matter is that more women today are choosing to wait on having kids well into their 30s and beyond. Among them is Oscar-winning actress, Hilary Swank, who recently revealed her decision to have children later in life .
The decision as to whether or not to have children is vastly different for men and women.
While it’s true that the quality of sperm begins to decline around age 50 , the vast majority of men are able to stay fertile and virile well into their 80s.
However, the window of opportunity for women is much smaller.
Biologically speaking, a woman has the greatest chance of conception and delivering a healthy baby between the ages of 20 to 35 . Anything beyond that is referred to as a “geriatric pregnancy.”
That being said, today more women are having children after the age of 30 than ever before in recorded history.
In 1981, a mere 24% of mothers who gave birth were over 30. As of 2011, that number has risen to more than 52% .
There are plenty of reasons why women today are waiting to have children.
Many feel that they aren’t ready to become mothers at such a young age; others argue that they haven’t found the right partner. But overwhelmingly, more women are putting their career aspirations ahead of the desire to start a family.
Among these career-driven women is none other than Oscar-winning actress, Hilary Swank.
You’ll no doubt recall Hilary from such films as Million Dollar Baby and Boys Don’t Cry . Although if you grew up in the ’90s, Hilary’s role as Julie Pierce in The Next Karate Kid is likely what sticks out most in your mind.
Earlier this year, Hilary made the surprising announcement that she was pregnant.
Considering that Hilary turned 48 years old in July, the announcement threw everyone for a loop. The news was compounded by the fact that Hilary revealed she was pregnant with twins!
Hilary broke the news during an appearance on ‘Good Morning America’ earlier in the fall.
Hilary’s first in-person interview since the COVID-19 pandemic was a promotional discussion regarding her new crime series, Alaska Daily . In the show, Hilary portrays an impassioned investigative reporter named Eileen Fitzgerald.
Toward the end of the interview, Hilary shared the happy news that motherhood was her next big adventure.
Hilary’s news was greeted with cheers and a unanimous show of support. But in the wake of her announcement, several people have begun asking why she chose to wait as long as she did.
“I was having a career and not having the right relationship until … four years ago, and all the elements needed to come together and be right,” Hilary explained to ‘Extra’.
“It’s something that was on my mind, so it’s nice to be here and just be pregnant,” she said.
When the interviewer asked how Hilary was feeling, the ‘Alaska Daily’ star admitted that she’d had a rocky few weeks.
“I was having some bouts of morning sickness for a while there,” she explained. “My friends tell me when you have double, it’s double the hormones , double the sickness, double the everything.”
Hilary said that she’s so happy to be at a place in her pregnancy where she can actually talk about it.
Prior to her announcement, Hilary was cutting her pants at the back just to make them fit and untucking her shirt on set so as to not give anything away.
What’s perhaps most exciting is that Hilary’s twins are due to be born on the birthday of her late father.
Hilary lost her father in October of 2021. He’d undergone a lung transplant seven years ago, and Hilary had become his sole caretaker up until his passing.
RELATED STORIES
“My dad, he was one of my favorite people in the world,” Hilary said.
” It’s kind of like this tribute of life with them being born on his birthday. He just wanted me to have everything that I wanted in my life; you know? So I know that they would be something that would bring him a lot of joy.”
The news of Hilary’s pregnancy has also brought a lot of joy to her fans all around the world.
” So glad for her ! Not only is she one the best actresses in the business[sic], she’s also a good person in real life,” YouTube user Wise Truth commented.
“Of course, absolutely talented actress without any no nonsense[sic] divas behavior. Congrats on your soon-to-come babies & mommy duties,” said YouTuber Nhi Arslain.
As we await the arrival of Hilary’s twins, be sure to get caught up on Alaska Daily , which is currently streaming now on Hulu .