Marcia Cross: "I Don't Want to be a Role Model for Older Mothers"  5/3/07

Desperate Housewives star Marcia Cross doesn't want to become a role model for older mothers because she insists she was "really irresponsible" having twins in her 40s.

The actress conceived her babies last year (06) through in vitro fertilization and gave birth in February (07) - but she doesn't want her pregnancy to be used as an example for women who want to start a family in their 40s.

She tells US news show Extra, "What I didn't want to do was put out the myth that you can be in your 40s and just pop out kids. I just don't want to do that.

"Have your babies younger if you can, which I would have done, but I just didn't find my husband until later."

Cross insists no one should start a family without taking all matters into consideration.

She adds, "It's terribly expensive... It's a drain on couples financially.

It's emotionally challenging. There's nothing easy about it. It's hard. The end result is the joy, but it's definitely a hard road."