Hoda Kotb says that after adopting her daughters, she questioned whether she deserved them

Hoda Kotb says it took some time for her to realize that she deserved her kids. 

Hoda Kotb says she struggled with imposter syndrome after having kids.

The “Today” show anchor discussed parenting with Suzy Welch, an NYU Stern School of Business professor, at Making Space: A Wellness Weekend, an event she hosted over the weekend in Austin, Texas.

“At one point, after I got to my kids, I said to myself, ‘I wonder if I deserve them.’ Imagine that feeling. That’s so crazy, but I thought it,” said Kotb, who became a mother in her 50s. “And I thought, ‘I’ll just work really hard to be really good, because I’m not sure.'”

The “Today” show anchor, now 60, has two adopted daughters, Haley, 7, and Hope, 5. She added that it took some time for her to realize that she deserved her kids. “I’m here, I deserve to be their mother. I wanted this, and I will care for them for as long as I’m able,” she said.

Kotb, whose treatment for breast cancer in 2007 had left her infertile, has been open about her experience as an older mother.

In a June 2023 episode of the “Just B with Bethenny Frankel” podcast, Kotb said she once thought it was “too late” to want kids in her 50s. But after seeing signs that motherhood was still possible, she decided to go to the adoption agency.

“I don’t know what birth feels like, and I bet it was amazing, but this was really close,” she said, reflecting on the moment she learned she would become a mother at 52. “I remember that feeling like it was yesterday.”

In September, Kotb announced her plans to step down as anchor of the “Today” show in 2025. She said she wanted to spend more time with her kids.

“Obviously I had my kiddos late in life, and I was thinking that they deserve a bigger piece of my time pie that I have,” she said on the show.

A representative for Kotb did not immediately respond to a request for comment from B-17 sent outside regular business hours.

Having kids later in life

More women are becoming parents later in life. A 2023 report from the CDC showed that the birth rate for women above 45 rose by 12% from 2021 to 2022.

While being an older parent has its challenges, it also comes with benefits.

Heather Grossman, who became pregnant at 47, previously wrote for B-17 that she initially struggled with parental imposter syndrome.

She worried about being the oldest mom on the playground and being judged by others. But this anxiety eventually subsided.

“Feeling the kicks and head butts of my growing baby reminded me that I was in the middle of something wondrous, sublime. And I recognized that the people closest to me felt only joy about my choices,” she wrote.

Similarly, Blake Turck, who became a first-time mom at 43, saw advantages to having a baby later in life.

“I’m definitely wiser now than I was 10 years ago. I’ve navigated loss, love, and adulthood,” she wrote. “I’ve nurtured myself, as well as my partner, and during that time, acquired certain instincts and traits that will undoubtedly make me a better mother today than I would’ve been at 33.”