DENVER -- There are many medical risks for women who wait until their 40s and 50s to start a family. But as more women make that decision, the medical community is offering more help. One career mom said waiting to start a family was the best decision for her.

Barbara Wickham was busy in her 30s. She was married at 31 and had two professions.

"I have my own company and the part-time job takes me throughout the world is my military service," Wickham said.

Then the 44-year-old professional went from two careers to two baby boys with some help from Conceptions, a fertility clinic.

"The two biggest increased risk for a woman when she becomes older is an increased risk of miscarriage and Down syndrome," said Dr. Bruce Albrecht, a fertility specialist.

Wickham is among a growing number of 40-something moms in the country but experts say the odds of getting pregnant does decrease with age.

Albrecht said women ages 30 to 35 have an 85 percent chance of getting pregnant. That number drops to 65 percent for ages 36 to 38 and between 42 and 43 years old, the chance of getting pregnant is about 20 percent. When a woman is 44 years old or older, her chance of becoming pregnant plummets to less than 5 percent.

"We know that reproductive tissues don't continue to produce the eggs of same quality throughout a woman's lifespan," Albrecht said.

For Wickham, she faced challenges of a miscarriage and some complications after the birth of her twins. But she has no regrets.

"I believe that I'm a much more patient. It worked in my plan to have them at this point in my life," Wickham said.

Wickham said none of this would have been possible without the support from her husband.

Albrecht said many women turn to donor eggs or even adoption to experience motherhood. But the bottom line is that no matter if you decide to wait or not, you need to ask yourself first if you are ready to be a parent.