When this story came online to our newsfeed today it got my attention!

A woman who had a baby last year via IVF returned to work just four weeks later as MD of a plastics firm. The news story asks us if women are under pressure to return to work soon after having a baby, which is a really good thing to debate in any case, but a 67 year old woman? Raises a lot of questions! So

1.Is it right to beat nature and have a baby at that age? Does age bring better parenthood or is it selfish?

2.Do women feel pressure to go back to work early after a baby – to keep the job and status because even though they shouldn’t, many employers still discriminate against new mums

3.How many of you left employment because of feeling pressured after having a baby and now work for yourself?

4.Is it right to judge a women in this situation when lots of older men have children with younger wives? Is this gender and cultural bias?

Lots of these questions, admittedly, would not be aimed at men. A man who fathered a child at 66 might be considered ‘virile’, and if he were still working no one would raise an eyebrow.

So what do you have to say, Café members?

Link to story:www.businesswomenscafe.com/uks-oldest-mu...er-just-4-weeks.html

Sue

She's only working 2 hours a day, it's not as if she's gone back full time. I don't know the details, no doubt she has her reasons for going back to work. In Africa, no-one would bat an eyelid because food would need to be put on the table.

These are cultural questions and depend on the society you live in. 67 seems very old to be having a baby, but that's only because it doesn't fit into our norm. Every 67 year old is different. My mum looks amazing at 70 and often has more energy than me, but I don't think she would want to have another baby! Equally, I have recently been to the funeral of a 101 year old aunt who could easily have had the energy to raise a child at 67.

Life is not neat and tidy. How many times do we read of the tragedy of young children losing their mother to a cruel disease or, as in my case, a car accident? If we could see into the future, would we start denying women the chance to have children because they weren't going to be around 'long enough' or 'fit enough' to raise them...? The important thing is that a child knows he/she is loved.