Celebrities reveal the truth about becoming a mum after 40

Maybe it’s a desire to establish a career first; maybe your partner didn’t come into your life until later; and maybe it’s just because for years you have been on the IVF rollercoaster. Whatever the reason, the number of women having children after the age if 40 is on the increase.

And as these older celebrity mums tell it, motherhood in your 40s comes with its advantages and disadvantages…

Geena Davis gave birth to all three of her children after the age of 40. Her daughter Alizeh was born when Davis was 46 years old and her twin boys, Kian and Kaiis, were born two years later. The Oscar-winning actress has spoken about the benefits of being an older mum.

“I felt 100 percent that I would be such a better parent than I would have been even five years earlier and certainly 10 or 20 years earlier,” she told Good Housekeeping.

“I’m sure there are younger people who have figured things out long before I did, but in my case, I became a parent with exactly the right person, at exactly the right time.”

Eva Mendes became a mum at the age of 40. She and husband Ryan Gosling first had a daughter Esmeralda, and then two years later their second daughter, Amada.

Mendes has been candid about the physical effort required to be a mum, and how it becomes more difficult with age. “I’m completely exhausted,” she said. “I thought my wild nights were over but these are some of the wildest nights I’ve ever had.”

Alyssa Milano was 41 when she gave birth to her second child, Elizabella. According to the actress, there’s something about waiting so long for motherhood that makes you cherish it when it finally happens.

“I loved waiting a long time to be a mom,” she told Us Weekly. “I’d had my ladies’ lunches and my shopping days.”

Angela Bassett is on the same page. After years of fertility issues, 47 year old Bassett used to a surrogate to carry twins Bronwyn and Slater. Being an older mum meant she was happy to leave behind her former glamorous life.

“There were so many offers to go to this party and that party,” the actress told PEOPLE. “It was a lot more fun to sit and gaze at my two little stars.”

Salma Hayek and husband, Francois-Henri Pinault, became parents to Valentina when Hayek was 40. Everyone, especially her daughter, she says, is better for the wait.

“I’m a more fulfilled human being now, and I probably wouldn’t have been 10 years ago,” Hayek told WebMD magazine. “She gets a better mother for being born now.”