Perth doctor slams women over late births

SYDNEY (AAP) - Oct 04 - Women who delay pregnancy until after their late thirties are unfairly burdening their offspring with geriatric parents, a leading obstetric physician in Perth says.
Dr Barry Walters, of King Edward Memorial Hospital (KEMH), says women who plan to get pregnant after that age are "selfish and self-centred".
The hospital has distanced itself from his comments, saying they are his personal views.
Dr Walters told The West Australian newspaper that the number of older expectant mothers being admitted had led to far more pregnant women and babies with medical problems.
"I see many, many women with diabetes, high blood pressure and all sorts of medical problems and, of course, the older the woman is, the more likely she's got medical problems.
"The medical side is only part of it. It is selfish and self-centred of older women to have babies because they are not just babies - they are babies for a little while and they become people," Dr Walters said.
"They are starting out in life, having a family, working, getting mortgages and have to deal with geriatric parents.
"It's just not fair."
Dr Walters said there were more and more older, obese, unfit women and women with medical problems who did not do so well in pregnancy and were hard work for medical staff.
He also slammed some intro-vitro fertilisation practitioners for enabling older women to get pregnant.
Dr Walters advised women to have children by the age of 37 and have a medical check-up and be a healthy weight before getting pregnant.
KEMH on Tuesday issued a statement saying the opinions expressed by Dr Walters were his own personal views and not those of the hospital.
"KEMH is committed to delivering high quality care to all women attending the hospital," the statement said.