Having a Baby Over 40 - My Research Statistics

So I have been reading lots of articles about the chances of getting pregnant over 40 what the statistics are regarding the chances, and some things I read - particularly forum posts - give lots of details of women who have got pregnant over the age of 40, but most of the news articles I read have seriously depressing statistics about the chances of getting pregnant particularly at my age of 43 and it all gets very depressing.

But my thoughts have always been how do they do the research on numbers and changes of getting pregnant anyway? Surely they don't register everyone who goes into their doctors and says they want to get pregnant and then see if they do? In any case I'm sure a huge number of women would not go to their doctors and would just start trying. And then what about those who just get pregnant by mistake?! So my thought are that if it is about the people who do go to the doctors then are those people more likely to think they have some sort of issue or problem that might stop them and that is why they go to the doctor in the first place? And hence they might be the women less likely to conceive anyway.

So I thought to myself that I seemed to know quite a few women who had had babies over 40 - and for most of those women this was their first baby. I also know a couple of women who had had 2 babies over 40 so to me my facebook friends seemed to have bucked the stats.

So this is my analysis of my facebook friends:

Women under 40 - 47

Women over 40 who had not had a baby in their 40's - 48
(however, this stat might be misleading as a significant number of them already have children so may not be trying for another one)

Women who had a baby over the age of 40 - 8

So that makes the percentage of my female friends over 40 who have had a baby at around 14%. Now that statistic is probably better than any of the ones that I have read from the doctors. And of course it does not take into account that I would estimate that the majority of the rest of them were not even trying! Let's say that 50% of them were trying (very unlikely to be honest) then that still means a percentage success rate of 25%. 

Well in my mind I think I have to go with what I know is reality - a minimum figure of 25% of those who were trying were able to have at least one baby over 40. But the more likely figure is over 50% I would say as I struggle to find 8 women in my facebook friends who are over 40 and likely to be trying. 

Maybe it is just my group of friends but I think they are a reasonable set of statistics so I will take heart from that.