© Photo: InstagramIt's surprising to think that having a baby over the age of 35 is still referred to medically as a 'geriatric' pregnancy'. Giving birth later in life is becoming increasingly common as many women spend their twenties and early thirties focussing on their careers and their life pre-kids.
There are pros and cons to having a baby over 35 – the pros are that you are generally more settled in life and able to provide for your children financially, while the negatives include increased health risks for yourself and the baby during pregnancy and childbirth. It's a decision that each woman weighs up for herself and there is certainly less of a taboo surrounding older pregnancy than there once was.
Many celebrities have had babies at an older age, and several of them over the age of 40. Below we reveal the British stars who welcomed children in their forties…
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© Photo: InstagramAlex Jones
The One Show's Alex Jones is mum to three children with husband Charlie, Teddy, four, Kit, two and Annie, two months. Presenter Alex welcomed her daughter Annie in 2021, at age 44, and her second child Kit at age 42.
Speaking to The Mail in 2017, Alex shared the pros of being an older mother, revealing: "I'm not a patient person at all. I'm very on the go, but with Teddy I have endless amounts of patience and I'm not sure that would have been the case had I been a mother ten years ago."
© Photo: InstagramAmanda Holden
Heart Radio host and Britain's Got Talent judge Amanda is mum to daughters Alexa, 15, and Hollie, nine, with husband Chris Hughes. Amanda, now 50, gave birth to her youngest child, Hollie, at the age of 41 in 2012.
In 2017, she told The Sun: "When I had my girls, I didn’t give my age a second thought – probably because it’s become the norm for women to delay starting families until later in life, and all my friends were in the same boat.
"But now I realise I’m hurtling towards 50 with two young children, and I need to do everything in my power to stay as healthy as I can for them. I want to be around for all the milestones ahead in their lives."
© Photo: InstagramChristine Lampard
Loose Women host Christine Lampard is a proud mum-of-two children with husband Frank Lampard. Aged 42, Christine welcomed her son Frederick in March 2021, while their daughter Patricia was born in 2018.
The TV presenter previously told You Magazine: "People would ask all the time about children and didn't seem to believe me when I said: 'If it happens, it happens'. They thought I was hiding some kind of heartache. I wasn't!"
"Having a baby wasn't something I actively thought about until last year, when we started trying," she added. "I was happy in my marriage and that was enough."
Christine said she "ruled out IVF after seeing too many friends go through such a gruelling process". She continued: "People assume that's what happened on account of my age. But I became pregnant the old-fashioned way immediately. I wasn't expecting it to be so quick."
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© Photo: InstagramJools Oliver
Jamie Oliver's wife Jools, age 46, just adores babies! The mum shares five children with her chef husband, having welcomed their youngest, son River, in 2016 when Jools was 41. The couple are also parents to Poppy, 19, Daisy, 18, Petal, 12 and Buddy, 11.
In an interview on the Made by Mammas podcast in 2018, Jools spoke about whether she would like another child, saying: "No! I am going to be 44 in November so it would be nice to get it in before I am 44, but you don’t know if anything is going to happen. After that I think am getting a bit too old. I am very happy with what I've got, but a little baby you can't beat it!"
© Photo: InstagramTana Ramsay
Gordon Ramsay and wife Tana, 47, welcomed their fifth child, Oscar in 2019 when Tana was age 44. The couple also share Megan, twins Holly and Jack and Matilda together.
Tana recently told HELLO! of having a baby in her forties: "Being an older parent and having done this before, you have a way of sitting back and relaxing more and laughing with them. The other thing for me is I had four of age four and under, so to have one is certainly easier."
On having a sixth child, she revealed: "Do you know, the problem is that I so love babies but I think I'll still be saying that when I'm in my 70s! "I don't think there's ever a time when I'll go, 'Oh my god never, ever, ever again but let's just say I count my blessings and think I'm incredibly lucky. I'm just enjoying every single moment of this one."
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© Photo: InstagramGeri Horner
Former Spice Girl member Geri Horner, 49, (née Geri Halliwell) is married to Formula One boss Christian Horner, with whom she shares son Montague. The couple welcomed Montague in 2017 when Geri was 44. Geri is also mum to daughter, Bluebell Madonna, who arrived in May 2006 from her relationship with screenwriter Sacha Gervasi.
In 2017, Geri told Red Magazine of her struggle to conceive her baby boy Monty. Prior to falling pregnant naturally, she endured failed IVF treatments and had almost given up on the idea of having a child with husband Christian.
Geri shared: "I wanted another baby and I'd tried an assisted route and it didn't work. I feel for any woman that has that natural biological longing, it's tough. I'd got to thinking I have a child, my husband has a daughter, and accepting this is our lot. Then Monty came naturally. Bluebell is sweet with him. Helps me change his nappy, pushes the pram."
The star added: "There's room for another one, for sure, and if that happened that would be great. But either way is okay. We've got our hands pretty full and we're very grateful for what we have."
