A woman’s peak reproductive age is between her teens and twenties. Mostly, until the age of 30, fertility tends to decline. However, many of you wait until later in life—perhaps after you’re established in your career by creating financial stability, or you wait for better pregnancy health behavior—to plan pregnancy. In addition, according to experts from the CDC, being a parent at a later age would be a resource for higher income and better education for your children. Recently, there has been an increase in childbirth after the age of 30 or 35, with the development of science and technology.
So, if you plan to become a mother after 30 or 35, this is something known as Geriatric pregnancy or advanced maternal age.
Pregnancy comes with many challenges, and pregnancy in the elderly or elderly comes with benefits and high risks:
What are the risks of pregnancy after 35 years?
Regardless of age, every pregnancy comes with a small risk. The risk factors are slightly higher when you are older and trying. The state of your health and the state of your future baby’s health are related to aging. Risks include:
Pregnancy takes a long time
A baby girl is usually born with eggs. As mentioned, your late teens and 20s are ideal for having children. However, when you reach your mid-30s, the number and quality of eggs decline. After 40, egg quality degrades more.
Pregnancy loss or miscarriage
There is a miscarriage on or before the 20th week of pregnancy. A study of 421,201 pregnancies between 2009 and 2013 confirmed that, after the age of 30 or 45, there is a significant increase in pregnancy loss from 10% to 53%.
Pre-eclampsia
Preeclampsia is a severe form of high blood pressure. When you visit the healthcare professional after 20u week of your pregnancy, he will check for the presence of increased levels of protein in the urine, thus characterized by pre-eclampsia. With pre-eclampsia, it is medically necessary to deliver by C-section. You can also expect your baby to be born prematurely or with a low birth weight.
Gestational Diabetes
Gestational diabetes actually occurs during pregnancy. Genetic factors, body weight and the work of the placenta during pregnancy contribute to this health condition. To be more detailed, your pregnancy weight is due to your pregnancy diet and lack of physical activity. Your family history of diabetes matters a lot here. The placenta that forms during pregnancy is responsible for all the necessary nutrients and oxygen to your growing baby. At the same time, the placenta produces hormones that can cause insulin resistance. The doctor will do some blood tests around 24 to 28 weeks of your pregnancy to make sure you have gestational diabetes. If gestational diabetes is left untreated, it increases the risk of having a premature or larger-than-average baby, or your baby may be delivered by caesarean section.
Multiple pregnancies (twins, triplets or more)
As a result of maternal age, there is an increased chance of twin or multiple pregnancies, with twins making up 6.9% of newborns born to women over 40. Follicle stimulating hormones play a big role here. FSH is also the hormone responsible for maturing an egg in preparation for ovulation each month. Women with elevated FSH levels may be more likely to release more than one egg in a single cycle.
In addition, the baby you give birth to may be born with birth defects or chromosomal abnormalities.
Think having a baby later in life is all bad news?
No. Not all of them. It is very natural to worry about your pregnancy, labor and delivery as you get pregnant with age. Despite the risks and your age, you will be able to enjoy your pregnancy and give birth to a healthy baby. All you need to do is listen to your body and your healthcare professional. Here’s how it should be:
- Do a quarterly checkup. Quarterly vaccinations may also be needed. Genetic tests are done to indicate whether the baby on board has any congenital disease or not. Glucose testing is also done to check for signs of gestational diabetes in the expectant mother.
- Nutritious and balanced food is the need of the hour. Don’t forget to include folic acid to prevent birth defects in your baby after birth. Also, take prenatal vitamins with folic acid.
- Regular exercise can control weight, stress factors and other medical conditions.
Just don’t miss your appointments. Take care of yourself and the life you nurture within you. After all, age is just a number.
