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  • Pregnancy and you blog

  • July 31, 2010

    Pregnancy after 35: Keep the risks in perspective

    By Mary M. Murry, R.N., C.N.M.

26 comments posted

More women age 35 and older seem to be having babies than ever before, so let's discuss pregnancy risks for older moms — and how to put the risks into perspective.

For starters, older moms have a higher risk of ectopic pregnancy — when the fertilized egg implants somewhere other than the uterus — as well as a higher risk of congenital anomalies. Scary? Yes. Still, the risks of pregnancy after 35 might not be as bad as they seem. For congenital anomalies, for example, it might be the difference between a 3.5 percent risk and a 5 percent risk. This would translate to a 95 percent chance of delivering a healthy baby.

In addition, normal age-related changes may predispose older moms to certain problems during pregnancy, such as:

  • High blood pressure
  • Diabetes
  • Placenta previa — when the placenta partially or completely blocks the cervix — or other problems with the placenta
  • Stillbirth — fetal death at or beyond 20 weeks of pregnancy

Here, too, it's important to keep your perspective. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the risk of stillbirth for all pregnancies is less than 1 percent. For women ages 35 to 39, it's 1.1 to 1.4 percent. For women age 40 and older, it's 1.1 to 2.1 percent. Even with a higher rate of stillbirth, the odds of delivering a healthy baby are still strongly in your favor.

So what's the bottom line? Older moms face higher risks during pregnancy, but odds and statistics don't rule your pregnancy. Instead, take charge of your health:

  • Manage chronic conditions. If you have a chronic medical condition — such as high blood pressure or diabetes — make sure it's under control before and during pregnancy.
  • Choose your health care provider carefully. If you have a preexisting medical condition, you might consult a perinatologist — a health care provider who specializes in high-risk obstetrics. If you don't have access to a local perinatologist to manage your entire pregnancy, consider a single consultation with the nearest perinatologist for evaluation and help planning your future care.
  • Be honest with your health care provider. Talk about the risks, and share your fears and concerns. Work together to create a responsible plan of care.

Don't go through your pregnancy on pins and needles. Trust nature, trust yourself and trust your health care provider.

26 comments posted

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  • April 17, 2013 5:09 p.m.

    I am 37 years old and am 26 weeks pregnant. I have Anti D antibodies from my first pregnancies miscarriage. Now, MCA Dopplers Ultrasound is being done every week starting 18 to monitor the blood flow of the baby to brain. At 26th week they have found a slight increase in the MoM value that is 1.39 and this value is expected to be normal, but still it has raised from last week. Peri is suggesting to do an Amniocentisis to figure out the Bilirubin levels and how anaemic is the baby as the levels have raised. My question is can we not find this out with MCA Doppler analysis as to how is baby affected and if the baby is low, medium or highly anaemic. I do not understand why Amniocentesis invasive testing is done to find that out. Can you please help answer if the Amniocentisis test is mandatory to find out how much baby is affected for anaemia? Please help.

    - SaiSony

  • April 11, 2012 6:58 p.m.

    THANK YOU for posting this!!! I'm 39 and just 5 weeks with my first pregnancy. I've been secretly fretting over the risks and this definitely helps me to relax.

    - Sarah

  • March 9, 2012 11:34 a.m.

    I'm 40(and a half) and have been trying to get pregnant. Things got so busy after the new year, i ran out of prenatal vitamins and am now figuring out that it's been a month! will i be ok to re-start the vit. and keep trying since i don't have much time. or should i wait a month before trying to conceive? i had been on them for more than a yr because i'm still breastfeeding my son.

    - Min

  • February 13, 2012 3:10 p.m.

    I found this great resource for expecting mothers, and it's free! 800.733.4727

    - Lauren

  • January 14, 2012 5:00 a.m.

    i am 36 years old and is 13 weeks pregnant. i had two previous miscarriages. This is my precious baby. i have been asked to take HCG injection every 5 days since the beginning of my pregnancy in addition to heparin injection and intravaginal progesterone tablet daily. i did not take any injections before my pregnancy. i was taking levothyroxine, metformin, and methyldopa. Kindy advise what is the indication for HCG during pregnancy?

    - Lovely

  • November 6, 2011 2:38 p.m.

    For high risk pregnancies, there is finally an alternative test to the "risky" amniocentesis. It's called Maternit21. It is a completely safe way of testing for Down Syndrome, because it is a genetic test. It's non-invasive. It's more accurate. Ask your doctor about this new test which just became available this month. Here is an article for more information on the test http://io9.com/5853246/the-era-of-non+invasive-prenatal-genetic-screening-has-officially-begun

    - Jeff

  • August 12, 2011 8:58 a.m.

    I am going 0n 40 and planning on having a second child. Just got a clean bill of health. Being that I am healthy, do the risks still run pretty high for older moms. I have read everyone's comments. Some comments made me sad and other comments made me happy. I am inspired to have my second child by mother, who at the age of 43 conceived a healthy baby girl. I want to do the right thing and I also want my son to have someone in his life after we move on to the next.

    - Ari

  • August 10, 2011 10:07 p.m.

    I am very hesitant to post this and I have been told that my age was not a factor in a very sad ending to my pregnancy but I would like to say a little something about placental abruption. On June 26th I delivered my baby at 34 weeks, 2 weeks shy of the day of a scheduled early delivery because of mild preeclampsia. My preeclamsia turned into eclamsia overnight and I was unaware. I had sudden strong contractions and severe vaginal bleeding and was rushed to the emergency room only to be told that my baby had died inside. The hardest thing I will ever do in my life was going through labor knowing that I would have no baby to take home. I am 40 years old. This was an accidental 4th pregnancy. My other children are 20, 17, and 10. I would like to tell everyone that my be battling blood pressure problems during your pregnancy to please take it seriously even if it is mild. things change rapidly. I wish I had demanded more testing and more information, and knew that even if the preeclamsia is mild and under control, things could change overnight. In memory of my sweet baby boy Blake Andrew.

    - Athena

  • June 12, 2011 8:31 a.m.

    Now that?s sutlbe! Great to hear from you.

    - Heidi

  • March 17, 2011 1:31 p.m.

    I am 32 weeks along and 37 years old. This has been a great pregnacy, but today I went in for an ultra sound and was told the belly of the baby is measuring at 37 weeks while the rest of the baby is measuring 34 weeks. They seem to think she weighs about 5 pounds 12 oz. What does this mean about the belly? HOw will this effect the baby? ANy help would be nice. They are going to have me start watching my sugar, even though there was no problem with my sugar test.

    - kate

  • January 14, 2011 8:04 p.m.

    I just found out tht I am 8 weeks pregnant with my 4th child. I just turned 44. My oldest is22 yrs old and my youngest is 9. I am scared and await an amnio in the next few weeks. Anyone out there recently had an amnio? How was it? I read the precedure takes about an hour although the extraction of the fluid only lsts about 2 minutes. Anyone have any details to share?

    - Madie

  • November 23, 2010 5:02 a.m.

    I'm 44 and have just found out that I'm pregnant with my 2nd... (Which I had 11 years ago) Anyone else out there of a similar age? PS They didn't have the internet like this 11 years ago! This is brill! :-)

    - Ruth

  • November 22, 2010 10:09 a.m.

    Bonnie, I talked with the OB high risk specialists, Maternal/Fetal doctors because I wanted to be sure to give you the lastest information. The amnio will tell you for sure about Trisomy 18. It is possible to have some cultures grow out something different the sample on a CVS. The normal ultrasound results are good. The amnio will be the final answer though. When is it scheduled for?

    - Mary @ Mayo

  • November 11, 2010 12:55 p.m.

    Has anyone had tests results that conflicted with each other? The initial blood work and ultrasound showed no problems whatsoever. Then the CVS came back with 45 out of 50 indicators showing problems, Trisomy 18. The next ultrasound showed a normal, slightly larger than average baby boy. Now we wait for the Amnio results. Is it possible the Amnio results will contradict the CVS results? Would that be the case with pseudomoaicism? Sometimes, the more we know, the more we need to know.

    - Bonnie

  • November 2, 2010 4:38 a.m.

    Things can possibly go wrong in pregnancy for women at any age, not just for women over 35. There's always a risk involved. I would be interested to know if the complications listed are always chalked up to older age in the mother (when she is over 35) even if there was another reason (known or not). I was 34 when I had my first child, and 38 when the second was born. Both children are healthy. I think if I'd been younger when I had kids, it might have been easier for me as far as recovery goes, but I'll never know. I don't feel as good physically as I did before I had kids; nothing terrible, but there's definitely some "wear-and-tear" on my body from pregnancy/childbirth. But everyone is different. I don't assume that another woman's experience is the same as mine, or that I know what she went through based on how it was for me.

    - Gloria

  • October 3, 2010 5:54 p.m.

    Nice blog and useful post. I'll visit often. Ruben, pregnancy-weekby-week.blogspot.com

    - Ruben

  • October 3, 2010 7:03 a.m.

    Nice site Thank you http://pregnancyweekby-week.blogspot.com

    - jad

  • September 26, 2010 8:25 p.m.

    I am 38 and expecing my second, and last, son in December. While I am very sorry for the posts from moms who are having complications, being pregnant and older is a celebration. Miscarriages are awful, I know from experience. Getting pregnant in the first place is a blessing and it can and will happen again. I plan on having my tubes tied after my second son is born and am scared to death of the permanancy. The risks of having a child at 45 scare me too much not too. As does the idea of having 3 boys (ha, ha)! I try not to tell people because of the sigma that comes with it. But my mom said something that really frightened me. What if something happens to my one of my sons, I'll never be able to have another. And, no they aren't replaceable, but I can't imagine not being able to have another. Just something for me to think about for the next 10 weeks. That, and what this kid's name is going to be!

    - Colorado Mom

  • September 22, 2010 6:38 a.m.

    Dear Mums. Right now I have a baby who is supposed to be seven weeks gestational age, but he or she is only measuring 5 weeks 6 days and has a slow heart beat. It broke my heart to see this on the ultrasound because he or she is alive and trying to stay that way. I have not read one positive thing about my situation on the internet. Even if the difference in dates is due to late implantation, I still cannot find anything positive about the potential outcome. But I've read many stories from other ladies. My advice to everyone is have your children before you are 35, if you can. Cindy's story brings tears to my eyes. I can only imagine her grief. It took courage to share that with everyone. God bless.

    - Australian Mum

  • September 20, 2010 2:14 p.m.

    I am 3 months pregnant and just had a CVS. I got the results today. My husband and I are crying. My baby girl has down syndrome. Why take the chance? It isn't worth the pain . To those of you who had children after 40 and are OK, be grateful, very grateful. I'm 46 and my life will never be the same and March 26, 2011 is going to be the worst day of my life.

    - Cindy

  • August 31, 2010 4:44 p.m.

    This is the first time I am here, its very nice to read these kind of information, anyway I appreciate your information. its better to discuss and get knowledge from this website is good practice. thanks for your nice article.

    - Leena

  • August 16, 2010 8:23 p.m.

    Thank you for your encouraging comments. I will be 37 in January and hope dh will want to start trying soon. Our daughter is 8 and I've always wanted another. Congrats to the other moms!

    - Melody

  • August 7, 2010 11:10 p.m.

    Thank you. Once and for all, someone really manage to put the risks into perspective.

    - Karen

  • August 4, 2010 Midnight

    i feel tremendous gratitude and feel very lucky to have delivered a healthy daughter at 42 years and a healthy son at 44 years old. they are 17 months apart. wow.

    - Judy

  • August 3, 2010 11:56 a.m.

    Congratulations Robin!

    - meaghan

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