5 Reasons It's Actually Awesome to Get Pregnant After 35

YOU'RE MORE LIKELY TO HAVE YOUR SH** TOGETHER

Day care is expensive. Sure, your 20s are considered your most fertile years, but they’re also your most confusing thanks to job and relationship insecurity and debt (hi, college loans). Come your 30s, you’ve probably nailed down a steady paycheck, plus a partner you’ve logged some years with--both things that make it a heck of a lot easier to raise a child.

DESPITE WHAT YOU THINK, FERTILITY IS STILL ON YOUR SIDE

So, that thing we said about your 20s being your most fertile years? Several studies cited in this article in The Atlantic explain that, contrary to popular belief, women are actually almost as fertile in their late 30s as they are in their late 20s. In fact, 82 percent of women age 35 to 39 get pregnant in a year, according to one.

YOUR KIDS HAVE A GREATER CHANCE OF BEING GENIUSES

Based on cognitive testing, a recent study from the London School of Economics shows that first-time 30-something moms typically have smarter babies compared with women who give birth in their 20s and 40s. The reason? As we hinted at earlier, in your 30s, you’re more likely to have a higher income and a stable relationship, not to mention a plan when it comes to proper prenatal care.

YOU’LL PROBABLY HAVE MORE FLEXIBILITY

That steady paycheck? You’ve earned it after all those pre-baby years at the office. Something else you’ve earned? A more flexible schedule. (Seriously, hard work + time = trust.) So if you need to work from home last minute because the nanny has the flu, your boss has got your back--no questions asked.

PLUS, YOU MIGHT LIVE LONGER

Seriously--yet another study from the Boston University School of Medicine found that women who give birth after the age of 33 are twice as likely to live to the age of 95 or older as compared with women who stopped having babies in their 20s. It has to do with your genes--if you’re able to conceive in your late 30s, you have gene variations that may also be tied to living a longer life. Huzzah!