Dr. Joëlle Belaish-Allart, a renowned gynecologist-obstetrician and head of the medically assisted procreation service at Sèvres' Quatre Villes Hospital, cuts to the chase: "The ideal age to have a child is between 25 and 35." She explains, "A 25-year-old woman has a 25% chance of conceiving each month. This rate declines from age 30, dropping to 12% at 35 and just 6% at 40."
Yet, many women resist this reality, Dr. Belaish-Allart notes. Societal pressures, amplified by media reluctance to discuss limits, play a role. Strong economic and social trends delay motherhood: women pursue extended education, establish careers late, and seek stable homes and relationships first. Researcher Gilles Pison from France's National Institute for Demographic Studies (INED) highlights that the average maternal age in France rose to over 30 in 2013, up from 26.5 in 1977.
Advances in medicine, especially assisted reproductive technologies, fueled optimism. Headlines in the 1980s and 1990s celebrated breakthroughs like ovarian stimulation, sperm donation, and egg freezing, suggesting age was no barrier—even for grandmothers. Longer lifespans and life's structured timelines reinforced this control. However, Professor Olivennes cautions, "Medically assisted procreation can't achieve everything, and success rates drop significantly after age 36."
** Author of France 2009: the average age of childbearing reaches 30, in issue 465 of Population and Society, March 2010. Downloadable from the INED website.
