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...

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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