Pregnant and Over 40
There are special concerns for the woman who wants to get
pregnant or who is pregnant and over age 40. Statistically, the
majority of women who conceive in their 40s go on to deliver
babies that are healthy.
It is true however that female fertility does decline with
age so the change of conceiving and of conceiving with healthy
ova decreases the older a woman is when she conceives. The
woman in her 40s may be running the risk of the conception
occurring using inferior ova, which increases the risk for
birth defect. Pregnant women are also at higher risk for
becoming pregnant with multiples after the age of 45.
A woman in her 40s may already have health issues when she
begins the pregnancy so for her it is even more important to
receive proper prenatal care all through the pregnancy,
especially as she is also at higher risk for pregnancy
complications. Some pregnancy complications may involve
developing hypertension, gestational diabetes or even
cardiovascular disease.
Women who are pregnant and over 40 are always receiving
unsolicited advice and comments about their decision to have a
baby as if there were something wrong about desiring to have a
child.
If you are in good health and reduce your risks of
complications during pregnancy by getting good prenatal care
and my practicing healthy habits you have an excellent chance
of giving birth to a healthy baby.
If you plan on becoming pregnant and are 40 or over you
should make sure that you see your caregiver before conceiving
so that you can have an assessment of your health condition,
check your body's readiness for pregnancy and get any issues
under control such as weight or diet.
If you are over age 40, you have a 25% risk of having a
miscarriage.
Women who are pregnant over age 40 also have an increased
risk of delivery by cesarean.
If you are 40 or older and pregnant you have a one in forty
chance for having a Down syndrome baby. Down Syndrome can be
detected using ultrasound before the baby is born.
The pregnant mom-to-be's health risks increase the older she
gets. She has an increased risk for developing high blood
pressure, cardiovascular disease during the course of her
pregnancy and she may also develop gestational diabetes.
To increase your chances for a healthy pregnancy it is
important to keep all prenatal appointments, stay active
physically every day even if all you do is take a walk.
Prenatal vitamins are really important and if you are planning
to become pregnant don't wait for your first prenatal visit to
start them, ask your gynecologist to prescribe them to you
before you conceive to be sure your baby has optimum nutrition
at the critical time in pregnancy when all the organs are being
formed.
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