'I thought my time was running out': Why Hayley Holt's 'geriatric pregnancy' is no longer unusual

Hayley revealed the news today on Breakfast. Photo / Twitter

Breakfast host Hayley Holt has today announced she is pregnant with her first child.

The 39-year-old made the exciting announcement live on the show this morning, following viewer speculation.

While sharing her joyful news, Holt also revealed it was something she had long hoped for but feared may never happen for her, given her age.

"I'm so happy because I wanted this for a very, very, very long time and I thought my time was running out and it hasn't," she shared with Breakfast viewers.

While Holt was fortunate to fall pregnant, a year shy of her 40th birthday, Statistics New Zealand shows that the median age for women to fall pregnant with their first child in New Zealand is 28.

According to a Statistics New Zealand article from 2012, the most recent available, "The median age of mothers giving birth to their first child is roughly 28 years, two years younger than the average across all mothers."

Although Hayley's pregnancy at 39 is technically considered a "geriatric pregnancy" because she is over 35, her age is hardly unusual given people's changing priorities in a modern era.

In a previous interview with the Herald, Fertility Associates chairwoman Dr Mary Birdsall said the age of women having their first babies is trending upwards as people are getting married later, focusing on careers, or choosing to buy a house before having children.

Hayley Holt has today revealed she is expecting her first baby.

"There is more acceptance of fertility clinics and often the expectation that fertility clinics could overcome the effects of ageing," she said.

Birdsall also shared that in 2017 over half of her clients were between 40 and 50 years of age.

But, she cautioned, while fertility specialists can do amazing things, they can't stop or turn back the effects of ageing to allow women to have a child using their own eggs.

"I would see someone every day where they are not going to be able to have children because of where they are, because of their biology, and they are often shocked that science can't offer a solution."