Wide context

Complete PICLE corpus of essays by Polish advanced EFL students (330,000)

/^t/Whether it is safe for older women to bear children is a matter of argument. Some experts claim that the average physical state of an older woman requires an unordinate vigilance to ensure that she can carry her baby to term. They also argue that such children risk having weaker immune systems. However, there are also authorities on gynaecology who do not find evidence that children born to postmenopausal women are subject to any higher risks. They are not abnormal or pathological. It is true that older mothers face grater risks to their own health than young ones but most in vitro fertilization programmes screen out candidates with heart conditions, hypertension, etc. Besides if there were the age limit applied on motherhood, perhaps women who have cancer, or AIDS, or who smoke, or drink heavily also should be forbidden to have children. Most doctors are concerned that older mothers will not have the energy to cope with bringing up a child. But aren't there thousands of grandmothers who raise energetically their grandchildren? Besides, couples with financial means to pursue in vitro fertilization can probably afford a nanny and give more security to their baby than teenage parents who are not prepared emotionally to have a child.