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Becoming a mother at a later age definitely has its perks — you have an exciting career and are able to afford a family financially. But the same cannot be said for your biological clock — when it comes to your fertility, time is really of the essence.

You’ll take longer to get pregnant, face a greater risk of miscarriages, premature labour and may even give birth to a child with chromosomal or physical defects — to name a few.

Your spouse will also likely experience a poorer sperm count and quality, which starts to decline after age 40.

That said, at this stage in most couples’ lives, starting a family is a decision that has been carefully thought out and not undertaken on a whim. Take a look at celebs who have defied the biological odds and are now embracing parenthood and all its ups and downs!

Scroll through the photo gallery to read their stories…

Carol Choo, 51

The wife of Hong Kong actor Andy Lau, 56, welcomed the couple’s first and only child, Hanna, in 2012. One of Cantopop’s four Heavenly Kings, Lau was 50 and Choo was 46 at the time of their daughter’s birth. The actor — and long-time bachelor — sent shockwaves through the Chinese media industry in 2009 when photos of him holding hands with the former Malaysian beauty queen surfaced. The public was stunned to learn that the couple has been dating for 23 years, well away from the media’s prying eyes! In fact, no one knew that the pair got hitched in 2008! (Photo: 8 Days)

Chua Leelian, 43

In December 2016, the Mediacorp Radio Love 97.2 DJ dropped a double bomb on her fans, sharing that she was married — again — after dating a mysterious Mr Lee for less than a year. And the surprises didn’t end there — Chua was also three months pregnant with her first child at 42! In her pre-baby interview with SmartParents, Chua says that she’s going to be a strict mum; maybe even a Tiger mum! “[There’ll be] lots of boundaries and no means no. Definitely no smothering, hovering or pampering. Just lots of love and guidance.” Even though the radio personality acknowledges the risks of getting pregnant at an older age, she’s not saying no to baby number two. “It can get lonely growing up alone, so my husband and I would love to have a second one, but it really depends. [We’ll] see how it goes. You never know!” (File photo)

Eva Mendes, 43

The famously private movie star met her significant other, Ryan Gosling, 37, when they co-starred as a couple in the film The Place Beyond The Pines in 2011. The couple welcomed their daughter, Esmeralda Amada, in September 2014, when Mendes was 40. Then in April 2016, the couple welcomed their second daughter, Amada Lee, now 1. The Latin bombshell, now 43, told People magazine that she’s consciously raising her two daughters in Latin-Cuban culture. “Esmeralda mostly speaks Spanglish right now. It’s really cute. She’s definitely bilingual, and it’s really important for us to make sure that she’s not only just familiar with the language, but also with the culture.” In fact, Mendes’ dad doesn’t speak a word of English despite having lived in America for 45 years. “It’s so cool because now that I’m trying to make sure that my girls speak Spanish, it’s like, ‘Okay, Dad, take them,’ because I know that all they’re going to speak with him is Spanish.” (Photo: Daily Mail)

Carole Lin, 43

The former Mediacorp artiste decided to give herself six months to get pregnant as she wasn’t young. As luck would have it, the actress and her businessman hubby — David Lim, 41 — conceived within two months! Lin was 42 when she gave birth to her SG50 baby daughter, Brooklyn, in August 2015. The Price of Peace actress had initially wanted a drug-free and natural delivery but was forced to undergo a C-section because of complications. Lin had a low level of amniotic fluid in her water bag a few days before her delivery, which meant giving birth naturally wasn’t a viable option. (Photo: Instagram/Carol Lin)

Sandra Ng, 52

In 2006, the veteran Hong Kong comedienne welcomed her baby girl — which she shares with director-beau, Peter Chan, now 55, — when she was 41. Jillian Chan, now 10, was delivered by emergency C-section. When Ng was quizzed about her daughter’s personality, she notes that Jillian has a silver tongue, like herself. “She is good at talking back and sometimes, I am almost forced to bite my tongue. She is the boss at home now.” As for Ng’s rules for daughter’s gadget use, she has three golden rules to follow: “No using of smartphone, no watching YouTube videos and no watching of any meaningless cartoons.” (Photo: on.cc) 

Fann Wong, 46

Local glitterati’s very own acting power couple welcomed their son, Zed, on National Day in 2014, when they were both 43. Even though Wong had to battle serious morning sickness and appetite loss in early pregnancy, the rest of her pregnancy went without a hitch. Wong and hubby Christopher Lee, 46, first started dating shortly after playing on-screen lovers in the 1998 Channel 8 drama, Return of the Condor Heroes. Incidentally, both Lee and Wong will be reprising their roles as on-screen lovers in an upcoming drama, Doppelganger, set to air in March. Lee notes in an 8 Days interview that he once found it gross for him and Wong to play lovers on screen, seeing as it’ll showcase the couple’s private life in public. But things are different now ― Lee notes that Wong has become more mature and motherly in the last few years. “I think it’d be nice for us to play a couple again and see what kind of chemistry we have now.” (Photo: Instagram/Fann Wong)

Salma Hayek, 51

The Frida star knew motherhood wasn’t a decision to be made in haste. Hayek told former talk show host Oprah Winfrey that she waited till she was 41 to have a kid because she wanted to relax into her role of being a mother. In September 2007, Hayek gave birth to her daughter Valentina Paloma Pinault, whom she shares with French billionaire hubby Francois-Henri Pinault, now 55. Her pregnancy wasn’t problem-free either. Hayek tells People magazine that she was nauseous for nine months. “The only thing I craved was fruit — cold mango [and] watermelon.” (Photo: Daily Mail)

Nicole Kidman, 50

This Hollywood A-lister suffered several miscarriages during her first marriage to fellow actor Tom Cruise. The couple went on to adopt two kids — Isabella, now 25, and Connor, now 21. In 2008, seven years after divorcing Cruise and marrying country music superstar, Keith Urban, 50, Kidman beat the odds and delivered daughter, Sunday Rose, naturally at 40. The pair then had another daughter, Faith Margaret, via surrogate in 2011. Incidentally, Kidman tells E! News that Rose, 8, is wants to become an actress like her mama. “My daughter just got cast in her school play so that's been the main priority, learning lines with her,” notes Kidman. “I just got off the phone with my husband, and Sunday was in the background going: ‘you’ve got to get off the phone and help me with my lines dad!’” (Photo: Daily Mail)

Mariah Carey, 47

The diva singer suffered a miscarriage shortly after her and ex-husband Nick Cannon, 37, in April 2008. Carey told a 20/20 interview that she had to take progesterone shots to boost her fertility and maintain her pregnancy. “The main thing I did that was tough, was to go on progesterone like every month and then when I was pregnant, I had to stay with the progesterone shots for 10 weeks. It minimises the chance of miscarriages by 50 per cent.” Cannon also told Us Weekly magazine that Carey also did daily acupuncture treatments all over her body. All these efforts paid off when she conceived twins Moroccan and Monroe in 2011 at age 42. (Photo: Instagram/Mariah Carey)

Marcia Cross, 55

The Desperate Housewives star knew her chances of conceiving as an older mum-to-be. So, instead of enjoying a honeymoon of her dreams — with her stockbroker husband Tom Mahoney, 59 — in 2006, the couple began IVF immediately. Cross struck gold ― she gave birth to twin daughters Eden and Savannah at the age of 44 in February 2007. (Photo: Daily Mail)

Janet Jackson, 51

The Grammy-winning music artiste received the best birthday present anyone could ask for ― she delivered her son Eissa Al Mana on 3January 2017, just two weeks before her 50^th birthday. Unfortunately, Jackson and her Qatari billionaire husband Wissam Al Mana, 43, separated just a couple of months following Eissa’s birth. Divorce aside, Jackson’s older brother, Tito Jackson tells People magazine that his baby sister is an awesome mother. “She's doing all the baby talk to the baby and playing with him constantly — all of that stuff. She also changes all the diapers — she does it all.” (Photo: YouTube)

Helen Hunt, 54

The Mad About You TV star told Ladies’ Home Journal that getting pregnant turned out to be tougher than she thought it would be. “I tried for a long time, and it just didn't happen, to the point where getting pregnant became the greatest wish — and the greatest challenge — of my life.” But as fate would have it, Hunt finally got pregnant when she was 40. She had her daughter, Makena Lei Gordon Carnahan, now 13, with her ex-boyfriend Matthew Carnahan, in 2004. The couple parted ways last August after 16 years together. (Photo: Daily Mail)

Halle Berry, 51

The X-Men movie star was among the lucky few who didn’t face any difficulties during her pregnancy although she was already 41. Berry who gave birth to her daughter Nahla, whom she shares with former beau Gabriel Aubry, tells Harper’s Bazaar, “My pregnancy was amazing. I was happy that whole time, I felt good, I had energy, I was like Superwoman. I wish I could feel like that for the rest of my life, that’s how fantastic it was.” Five years later, in 2013, she gave birth to son, Maceo, at 47 with then-husband, French actor Olivier Martinez. As a mother of a boy and girl, Berry says she’s noticed a difference between the way boys and girls breastfeed. The Hollywood star told talk show host Ellen Degeneres, “When I would put Nahla on the boob she would [give] a nice little girly suck. With him, it's like he’s sucking the life out of me!” (Photo: Daily Mail)

Geena Davis, 61

At age 46, Davis — who’s married to neurosurgeon, Dr Reza Jarrahy — gave birth to the couple’s daughter, Alizeh in 2002. Just two years later, the actress was pregnant again, this time with twin boys, Kian and Kaiis. The Thelma & Louise star, now 61, admits that the 15-year age difference between she and her hubby, 46, was a stumbling block initially. Davis shares, in an interview with Good Housekeeping magazine, that a relationship with Dr Jarrahy — who was 27 at that time — seemed far-fetched. “The amazing thing is, when we started to spend more and more time together, there wasn’t anything about our age difference that stuck out. It doesn’t feel like we’re from different generations, and now we barely notice it at all.” The couple tied the knot in 2001 ― it was Davis’s fourth walk down the aisle by the way. (Photo: YouTube)