Motherhood

A slightly dumb question:
What's the oldest age a woman born in 1900 could reasonably be assumed

Jeff...

DUH !!!! I should learn to read I missed "for the first
time"

Jo Taylor...

When my mother was 46 she had a 21-year-old and a 1-year old.

There were whispers amongst the village residents, as my sister had
disappeared to Greenwich to do her training as a nurse at just about the
right time! Apparently she took great pleasure in wheeling me around in my
pram with her head held high...

Jo Taylor

Jeff...

Good for her!

Amazing, though, how attitudes have changed since 1950s

It was a 'disgrace' if baby born significantly less than 9
months after marriage.

Ot of wedlock was a real scandal.

A couple living together unmarried was a cause for
ostracisation in many cases.

Ess...

In my house :

Husband 47
Wife 41
Female Child 18
Male Child 2

Are you going to assume the male child is the son of the Female child ?

Jeff...

No, but if I came across that entry in a census, I'd
consider it a possibility to bear in mind.

to have become a mother for the first time?

Lesley Robertson...

Biologically speaking, assuming good nutrition and depending on the genetics
etc, early 50s. Practically speaking, late 40s is more likely.
Sometimes, "late children" turn out to be mothered by a daughter.
Lesley Robertson

Serena Blanchflower...

How likely would it be for an unusually late first child to actually
have been mothered by a niece, and taken on my a childless aunt?

Charani...

Possibly 45, maybe later. It would depend on a number of factors.
There's also the consideration that the older the mother, the greater
the chance of the child being disabled in some way.

More realistically, under 40.

Jeff...

Agreed, although over 40 is not that ncommon in my tree.

My Dr shgared with me that, generally, the earlier puberty
the later menopause. I'm not sure that info helps me tho'!!!

Charani...

Not you personally maybe, given that you're male It could have a
bearing (no pun intended) on how long a wife will continue producing
children. Of course there's no way of knowing at this time distance
exactly when puberty did commence, but it could explain why some wives
were still producing at an age when we would have expected them to
have stopped long since. It's something worth bearing in mind.

LastFamily...

According to the 1901 census for my great-grandmother she was over 50 when
last child was born. Most older children had left home, but there was a 22
year daughter still in residence.....also...I was told by my elderly aunt,
when she was in her cups "you will find funny things went on in that
family."..Ahh the intrigue, and I'll probably never know, only conjecture...