If you’re a woman in her early 30s, you’ve probably heard by people (well-meaning people, of course) that your “biological clock is ticking.” When people say this, they’re likely referring to the fact that getting pregnant past the age of 35 can be difficult.

That’s because, once you hit the magic number of 35, you’re automatically deemed “high risk” for pregnancy. Anyone aged 35 or older may find it could be more of a struggle and take a bit longer to get pregnant—and once you do get pregnant, you might be more closely looked at by the doctor.

By no means should that discourage anyone from trying to get pregnant past the age of 35. Though it can be scary to hear about all the risks associated with a later pregnancy, know that plenty of women are able to have a successful, healthy pregnancy in their late 30s and even 40s.

“It’s normal to be concerned about later age pregnancy, and yet women at the age of 35 are generally healthy and can have babies,” says Dr. Juli Fraga, a San-Francisco-based psychologist specializing in women’s reproductive health. “Even with fertility issues, there are many ways to help families have children, through IVF, donor eggs, or surrogacy,” she adds.

If you’re looking to have a baby after 35, here are 5 positive facts to keep in mind:

1. You might live to see 100

   Giving birth after 35 means there’s a higher chance you’ll live a long, full life. In fact, those who conceived after 40 were four times more likely to reach 100 years old than those who gave birth before that, according to an ongoing New England Centenarian study.

2. You’re more stable

   There’s a huge different about where most people are financially and in their career when they’re in their 20s vs. their 30s and 40s. Most women (and their spouses) find that when they hit 35 or older, they’re much more stable and better able to take care of and be responsible for a little human.

3. You’ve lived more

   Chances are, by age 35, you’ve gotten to do a lot of things that most younger parents might not have been able to do before having kids—anything from taking that cross-country cruise to building an extension on your house. At this age, you might have less regrets in life about what you didn’t get to accomplish before having to turn all your responsibilities onto raising a baby.

4. It could boost your brain

   According to a study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, moms over 35 were able to benefit more from the high level of pregnancy hormones. The study found the rise in hormones specifically helped women in this age bracket with their problem solving skills and even improved their mental reasoning and memory.

5. You may be even happier

   There’s some research that shows that parents in their 40s are actually happier parents than younger parents. And children raised by happy parents are happy children—you can’t ask for more than that!

What do you think is the most ideal age to get pregnant> Did you know there were so many benefits to having a baby after 35?