I was 53 when my youngest child was born. He is 6 now and doing wonderfully. We gave it a lot thought and did a lot of research before we decided to go ahead. The risk of genetic defects is indeed higher but individual genetic histories matter more than mass statistics, and defects can occur at any age. The most important consideration was whether I could live long enough, and remain active enough, to see the little guy through college (age 75). I could always fail to live through tonight but the odds are very good that I will get to 75.
Ages and causes of death of immediate ancestors:
Father: Still living, age 84
Paternal grandfather: 71 (heart attack)
Paternal grandmother: 86 (congestive heart failure)
Mother: Still living, age 81
Maternal grandfather: 80 (cancer)
Maternal grandmother: Still living, age 103
With 3 direct ancestors still alive at age 59, I have a very good chance of living well past 80. It might be better if I were female, but in that case I would be very unlikely to have a 6 year old.
Because of the effects of compound interest it might be nice to live to 200. If someone puts $5,000 into the stock market for a child at age 0 and the stock market average return is 12% minus 4% inflation then they will have $24 billion in today's dollars to spend on their 200th birthday.
That’s really neat that you have a grandma still alive, and over 100!
This is fun! (BTW, I’m pregnant finally, age 38.)
Dad: alive, 69
Dad’s Dad: 98 (and sharp as a tack until the last year; can’t remember “why”, probably just general shut-down)
Dad’s Mom: 83 (rheumatoid arthritis, ????)
Mom: alive, 70
Mom’s Dad: 84 (general shut-down; had Alzheimer’s badly)
Mom’s Mom: 80 (found comatose with large leg gash, died few months later)
Besides the fact I’m struggling alot with GI problems since I got married the other year, my prospects for longevity are reasonable if I overcome them.