I appreciate people sharing their experiences on here, and don't doubt that having a baby while trying to finish your PhD is really tough.

But I think it is really tough at any time, and at least when you are doing a PhD you can extend the time you spend working on it (and funders will let you take maternity leave, give you maternity pay and pause your funding until you start work again). This is also true of some of the most sought after postdocs where you chose your own project (i.e. British Academy & Leverhulme in the humanities). On my current three year contract I am entitled to maternity leave and pay, but my contract is due to end on a certain date and will end then whether or not I'm on maternity leave (and because I won't be able to go back to work for three months because of the contract ending I'm not entitled to the university's enhanced maternity pay). Most of my friends are on one-year or even only nine-month contracts so they have no chance of maternity pay - I'm comparatively lucky. However, then I won't be "in post" when applying for new jobs and getting a new position is always more difficult in that situation. I also now have a lot less freedom to arrange my own time than I did as a PhD student. I have two misogynistic bosses who I am sure are going to react with hostility when I tell them I'm pregnant as they will just see it as threatening their project (even though the research council will provide money for them to get cover).

As I've said before, I think there is no right time careerwise (and that's not just confined to academia). Academia has the potential to be family friendly (flexible hours, home working etc.) but is so competitive that in reality it isn't!

This is something I've been thinking about alot. I'm in my early thirties and in my first postdoc position in the humanities. We've been together for over a decade and have always wanted children but been putting it off for career reasons. But now we've got to the point where I think it doesn't make sense to put it off for a career that there is no guarantee I'll have. I'm a relatively strong candidate for a permanent job, but I might well never get one and if I wait until I do get one, if I do, and then wait a year or two to be settled into the job, another five years will probably have gone by. I could also spend another 5 years on short term contracts. Who knows. Certainly I think there is no 'good time' careerwise and so will not be putting it off much longer. I guess you have to figure out your personal priorities: I put children ahead of a job that I might never get! Good luck everyone making these difficult decisions.