Late motherhood surges as stable partners become scarce

Motherhood is delayed: the problem isn't just money

Women aren't having children because there are no men to have them with. This is the argument of a newspaper article that examines how the difficulty of finding partners committed to parenting adds to job insecurity in postponing motherhood. Far from the idea of prioritizing a career, many studies indicate that egg freezing is a response to the lack of stable commitments.

The cost of waiting for the ideal father

The delay of motherhood is not just a lifestyle decision. Fertility clinics report an increase in patients in their thirties seeking to freeze their eggs after breakups or due to the absence of a partner willing to share parenting responsibilities. The cost of these treatments ranges between €6,000 and €7,000 per round. The result is a life dilemma: wait for a stable father to appear or take on motherhood alone.

The reality of fertility clinics

Researchers Sara Lafuente and Marcia C. Inhoor agree that egg freezing is not a tool to postpone fertility for professional ambition. Rather, it is a safety measure in the face of relationship uncertainty. Female fertility drops drastically after age 35, and even more after 40. Meanwhile, male sperm quality also deteriorates from age 39. Waiting, therefore, has a high biological price.

The business of late motherhood

There is a debate about whether women seek men to support them or simply cannot find partners who meet their current expectations of shared responsibility. The conclusion is clear: supply and demand do not intersect at the optimal moment. Divorce laws and the current legal framework are perceived as a bad deal for men, which reduces their willingness to sign parenting contracts under the conditions many women would want.

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