Just as the birthday party hangover was clearing and turning 30 didn't seem too bad, I found out I may have left it too late to have kids!

According to a new survey half of all women who delay having children until their 30s will never conceive.

On the face of it this is a very depressing statistic.

Only a few of my friends had babies in their 20s and most of us are not really thinking about repopulating the earth just yet.

Does this mean we'll be unable to have our own little Kylie and Jasons and will be doomed to be favourite babysitters to those lucky few who rushed headfirst into motherhood?

Of course not - like most surveys this one falls apart on closer inspection.

The statistics include women who are still single in their 30s (whether they are divorced, widowed or still looking) and those who don't even want kids (so will no doubt be celebrating the fact their chances of conceiving have been cut in half).

The same people shaking their heads because we aren't all popping them out would no doubt be appalled if the number of mums without steady partners increased.

There are no statistics in this damning survey for the conceiving chances for us 30-somethings who are in relationships and are still hoping (one day) to become mums.

But it wasn't the manipulation of the figures that angered me about this report - we're all used to taking statistics with a huge pinch of salt.

What angered me was the host of commentaries based on the survey that followed.

Mothers of all ages smiled out from newspaper pages telling us girls how they nearly missed out on the joys of parenthood or how much they managed to pack in by having a baby straight after college.

Talk about pressure!

Even the Government was suggesting that us girls should do our bit - we were told to lie back and think of England or be blamed for the ageing population that can't afford to live on its paltry pensions.

Despite popular belief not all women in their 30s have been so busy behind their desks they have failed to notice the passing of time.

Yes, we have had careers but not at the expense of our private live - in this day and age it is possible to have both! We are simply more cautious than our mothers - we have seen so many marriages ending in divorce, heard so much about STDs and seen so many messed-up kids on Trisha that we want to do it right.

We have had more relationships than other generations and if we don't find the right one until we're older surely it's best that we waited rather than having six children to six different dads?

Maybe we have been thinking too hard about finding an unrealistic ideal but we can hardly be damned for wanting everything to be as perfect as possible before bringing another life into this world.

Surely it would be worse for us all to jump into bed while we were on the right side of 29 simply to make up the numbers? I may be 30 and not yet a mum but I resent the assumption that I have spent my formative years married to my job, too selfish to want a baby.

My 20s were a ball and I wouldn't change one drink-fuelled, dance-filled moment - I certainly won't look back and feel I missed out on anything.

Things may change in my 30s but that is my decision and I will make it when the time is right for me - not for the statisticians who are belittling thousands of women simply because the time isn't right for them to have a baby.