As more and more women are waiting until later in life to have children, the average age of expectant mothers is rising, but there are still some risks associated with childbirth after the age of 40.
Ochsner Women’s Health Center - Kenner OB/GYN Dr. Michael Wiedemann said the traditional age boundaries for childbirth are becoming more fluid.
“Some people have a little trouble getting pregnant after 40, but there’s nothing specifically wrong with the age of 40, there’s just a gradual increase in risks,” Dr. Wiedemann said.
Dr. Wiedemann said he regularly sees patients who have had healthy babies with no complications at or after the age of 40, but there are concerns that older mothers should be aware of.
“Infertility after 40 becomes an issue, but once you’re pregnant, the main issue is an increase in miscarriages and an increase in birth defects such as Down’s Syndrome,” he said. “The risk of having a baby with Down’s Syndrome increases with age. When you’re 20 years old, your chances are approximately 1 in 2,000. When you’re 35, it rises to about 1 in 300, and when you’re 40, it’s about 1 in 100.”
Other problems such as gestational diabetes and pregnancy-induced hypertension are more likely to occur after the age of 40, Dr. Wiedemann said, but the risks are statistically low.
Despite an increased rick of complications, Dr. Wiedemann said he’s seeing more and more patients who are 40 or older prove that healthy pregnancies later in life are more common than most people realize.
“If a woman is healthy and no real birth defects are revealed, usually the pregnancies are not complicated, and under appropriate care mothers can carry to term with few problems.”
“Generally, there are more women having their first baby or trying to get pregnant in their late 30s and early 40s than we saw 10 or 20 years ago, and the majority of these people do very well,” he said. “I would say 90 percent of the time they don’t have a problem. In fact, older moms are more mature, wiser, and listen to recommendations more closely than some younger patients who are healthy. Older patients can often times be the better patients.”
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Pregnancy After 40
Articles From August 2011
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