When Megan Fox quietly revealed her fourth pregnancy earlier this year, it wasn’t with a red carpet announcement or glossy photo shoot. It came, instead, in a vulnerable Instagram Story: “38 years old. Six weeks pregnant (unplanned but a happy surprise),” she wrote. It was a striking reminder that motherhood in your late 30s doesn’t come with an expiration date.
Fox’s message—“Please stop listening to the patriarchy. Women are eternal light beings. We do not have an expiration date.”—hit a nerve with many women navigating motherhood on a different timeline than they once imagined.
By framing the moment as a bold statement of autonomy and power rather than tabloid fodder, Fox tapped into something real: the evolving conversation around maternal age, unplanned pregnancies, and reclaiming the narrative of what it means to become a parent later in life.
A growing reality: unplanned pregnancies after 35
While much public discussion centers around fertility challenges in your 30s and 40s, a quieter truth often goes unspoken: unplanned pregnancies still happen—sometimes joyfully, sometimes complicatedly—even in your late 30s or early 40s. According to data from the Guttmacher Institute, nearly half of all pregnancies in the U.S. are unplanned, and while the highest rates are among younger women, women ages 35–44 still account for a significant share.
While there’s a common misconception that fertility stops abruptly in your late 30s, medical experts stress that this isn’t entirely accurate. Dr. Aimee Eyvazzadeh, a reproductive endocrinologist, notes that while fertility does decline with age, especially after 35, pregnancy is still possible and not uncommon. She encourages women to get fertility testing (like AMH and antral follicle count) to better understand their fertility outlook and options, rather than relying solely on age-based assumptions.
Parenting later in life—layered, emotional, and powerful
For mothers like Fox, who are already raising children, the experience of a new baby in your late 30s often feels more layered. There’s the joy and awe, yes—but also the complexity of starting over when life already feels full. The emotional bandwidth required to meet the needs of a newborn while navigating the personalities and needs of older kids can be immense.
And yet, there’s a quiet confidence many later-in-life moms bring to the table. Erica Chidi, doula and co-founder of LOOM, talks about how parenting later in life brings a unique strength. She explains that with more life experience, parents tend to feel less pressure to prove themselves and have a more grounded sense of self. This results in a different kind of energy and approach to parenthood compared to earlier stages in life.
Rewriting the story of age and motherhood
Society has long imposed arbitrary timelines on women—particularly around fertility, marriage, and motherhood. But Fox’s unapologetic embrace of her pregnancy sends a different message. Her words push back against the idea that motherhood must follow a set path, or that our value diminishes with age.
More and more, women are carving new paths. CDC data shows birth rates among women aged 35–39 rose steadily for over a decade, peaking just before the pandemic. And cultural narratives are catching up, with more public figures and everyday parents opening up about embracing motherhood later—and on their own terms.
As Fox herself put it: “Don’t let them rob you of your power.”
In choosing to share her story not as a headline but as a moment of reflection, Megan Fox joins a growing chorus of women redefining what motherhood looks like—and when it happens. Whether planned or not, early or late, motherhood doesn’t expire. And for many, that’s the most empowering truth of all.
