According to a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at the National Maternity Hospital in Dublin, women in their twenties should be encouraged to start their families earlier in order to avoid potential health complications.

According to Professor Fionnula McAuliffe, women in their twenties may want to reconsider their decision if they have chosen to defer pregnancy until their thirties.

Clarifying the point, the professor, who is also head of obstetrics and gynaecology at UCD's medical school, said: "I'm not encouraging women to have a baby come hell or high water. The message is for women in their twenties who are in a stable relationship but are deferring motherhood because they want to do other things."

Eager to hammer home the advantage of starting a family at an earlier stage, she went on to say: "We need to get the message out there that, biologically, women do much better when they have their children in their twenties instead of their thirties."

Speaking to the Irish Independent, the professor explained that women need to be aware that their fertility starts to decline sooner than they might realise, saying: "Fertility is starting to decline at that stage; the orange light goes on at 35 and the red light goes on at 40. The older the mother is, the more likely she is to have complications."

Acknowledging the fact many couples choose to delay parenthood, Professor McAuliffe suggested they give this decision a little more consideration, saying: "We come across couples who have been together since their early twenties but are not planning to have a family till their early thirties."

Insisting that the issue needs to be brought to public attention the professor asserted that secondary level students be made aware of the issue while participating in the Social, Personal and Health Education curriculum.

Elaborating on the point, she says: "All schools have education programmes around family, nutrition, lifestyle, and that would be an ideal place to raise awareness among schoolchildren that there are medical and biological issues around giving birth at an older age."

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