Richard J. Paulson, chief of reproductive endocrinology and infertility, explores the biology, feelings and ethics associated with motherhood late in life in his new book, Rewinding Your Biological Clock.

Along with co-author Judith Sachs, Paulson describes what the various forms of assisted reproductive technologies entail in easy to understand lay language.

But what makes the book out of the ordinary, and perhaps more useful to women contemplating rewinding their own clock, is the fictionalized story of one 48-year-old woman’s attempt to have a child after her biological clock has stopped ticking. The character is a composite of real women Paulson has treated over the years, who may have put off having children to focus on their careers, because they had not established a successful relationship until relatively late in life or have tried and failed to become pregnant despite years of trying.

Paulson is well aware of how new technology has forever altered the classic equation of motherhood with youth.

In 1996, he performed in-vitro fertilization with a donor egg on a 63-year-old woman, who went on to become the oldest person in the world to give birth.

The book serves as both guide and inside story of the difficult, but often rewarding, path that women may now follow.

More stories about: Obstetrics, Women's Health