Pregnancy Risks Over 40
written by Pat Antliff
Often women in their 40's are discouraged by their doctors from trying to get pregnant. Doctors will site medical risks and also the possibility of chromosome problems such as Downs Syndrome as reasons women should not attempt pregnancy after age 40. However, many women over 40 become pregnant, have uneventful pregnancies and healthy babies. So what are the REAL risks of pregnancy over 40?
MEDICAL RISKS:
If you are pregnant over 40 you may see the term AMA on your medical chart. AMA means ‘advanced maternal age’ and is the term used for any woman over 35 (!) who is expecting. It is like a little red ‘flag’ on your medical record and often women in our age group are considered ‘at risk’ simply due to age.
A recent study published in the European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology (2006; 126: 33-8) was released which examined the pregnancy health of women in their 40’s with their younger counterparts aged 25-30. They also looked at the health of babies born to both groups. Amongst the women included in the study they found that most of the pregnancies were natural. Amongst the older women, 4% of the pregnancies were the result of fertility treatments.
The Differences:
Women who were older have had more chance to develop health problems during their life time. As a result they are more likely to have pre-existing health problems which can impact pregnancy such as hypertension or diabetes. Some of the problems experienced by older women are not caused by the pregnancy but rather are conditions which are already present and must be managed carefully during the pregnancy.
One condition observed was the development of pregnancy-induced hypertension which was more frequent in older women than in their younger counterparts. Not surprisingly, they also discovered that older women were more likely to be induced and along with induction, 31% of the over 40 group underwent a cesarean section compared with 16% of the younger group.
Pre-Natal Care
All women should seek pre-natal care when they discover they are pregnant. Women over 40 are routinely referred to high-risk obstetricians simply due to age. Unless there are pre-existing conditions which put a woman over 40 at risk there is no particular reason to see a high risk obstetrician for your pre-natal care. If you are in good health there is nothing which places you at particular risk. You should be monitored however, for gestational diabetes and pregnancy induced hypertension as the risk of both of these conditions increases during your 40's.
The Bottom Line:
Even though some women did experience more challenges during their pregnancy there was no difference in birth outcome between the younger and older groups. Babies were born healthy and moms gave birth without adverse outcomes for themselves. The researchers reported that the study showed that when compared with those of younger women, pregnancies of older women and health of their newborns were similar and quite satisfactory.