DON'T TELL ME I CAN'T… …have my first child at 44

Louise Hunter found that being a ‘geriatric mum’ still has its advantages

- SALLY HOWARD

Are you a grandma too?’ the woman said, with a kind smile. ‘I’m a grandma-to-be, here to support my daughter.’ Blood rushed to my cheeks and my hands cradled my small pregnancy bump as I admitted that I was actually pregnant, expecting my firstborn. I’d been dreading the parenting class for months. At 44, I was undoubtedly the oldest mum-to-be in a room of 20- and 30-somethings.

I’d never felt that mothering urge that some women talk about. My parents divorced in my teens and my mum wasn’t a cake-baking sort of woman. In my 20s and 30s, I built a career as a globe-trotting saleswoman, and when my friends started having kids, I was pleased for them but never felt broody.