# Having babies after 40, health risk or not?



## Anglyn

I always read about the health risks to women who wait until 40 to have thier first baby........what if its not your first? Im 38 now. I really thought my youngest was my last, but lately Im thinking one more. But I want to go back to school and if I do that first, we're talking three years. I'll be 41. Do I really want to have a baby at 41? My grandmother had my mom at 42 and my mom seems ok, if you discount her personality issues, but thats a diffrent issue!

Seriously, anyone know anything about the logistics of having a subsequent baby after 40? (hell, at 38 I was already considered "elderly" by my ob/gyn, nice, huh?)


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## filiadeluna

My mom had me at 38, and I turned out to be perfectly healthy, but her doctor was paranoid and tried to get her to take all these tests. She refused them because some of the _tests_ are actually risky. The Doc's main concern was Down Syndrome, which is more of a risk after 35 I believe.

Obviously you can have a healthy pregnancy & baby past that age, but there are always more risks. Personally if I were you I would try to have a baby sooner rather than later, because your chances for conceiving naturally will be less also. I understand that school is important too. I am young, and I'm only half way through my bachelor's degree, but DH and I felt it was time to TTC our first because we'd like to be finished having children by the time I'm 30 or soon afterwards, and it will be awhile before I finish school anyhow since I'm just a part-timer (work full-time also).

Good luck with whatever you decide!


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## oldermom

This is, admittedly, only anecdotal evidence, but I had my first baby at 41 and my second at 43. Both were easy deliveries, no problems, and both children are healthy and happy.

Oldermom to Annika (11/3/03) and Jackson (6/27/06)


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## jillmamma

My grandma had my aunt at almost 41, and she was premature by about 2.5 months. My aunt then went on to have her two at 39 and 41, and her first was 6 weeks early, and her second was 4 weeks early. So, from that, I guess you may run the risk of a higher chance of having a preemie.


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## ananas

Quote:


Originally Posted by *filiadeluna* 
My mom had me at 38

My mom had me when she was 38, too. There were no complications for either of us.


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## texaspeach

are you talking about health risks to the mother, or health risks for the child? "I always read about the health risks to women who wait until 40 to have thier first baby" what are the health risks you read about?


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## miss_sonja

I was just about to post on this subject...

Just hit the big 40 and still wondering if a third child is in the cards...when I think about not having any more, it feels...sad, like we're not complete. But, frankly #2 is a handful. Two might be all we're able to handle!

Anyone have a third after 40?


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## adtake

Quote:


Originally Posted by *filiadeluna* 
The Doc's main concern was Down Syndrome, which is more of a risk after 35 I believe.

Seeing I will be 35 when this baby is born I have been hearing that alot too..
however, I recently went to a training with a Down Syndrome Information group that told us new information is showing that mothers over 35 are not at higher risk for children with Down's Syndrome.

There was some great information from them about Down's Syndrome.


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## MGBoutique

I'm 42 and due with number 3 in mid-December. We started trying for this one four years ago. So my main "issue" with an older-in-life baby is the declining fertility issues you may be dealing with. I ended up needing to use fertility drugs to get pregnant with this little guy. After getting pg. on the first try with my other two, it was such a shock to have those issues. But other than that, I haven't had any problems.

Of course older mothers are at higher risk of entering their pregnancies with something "else" wrong-obesity, high blood pressure, etc...by virtue of their ages. And yes, statistically there are higher chances of something being wrong with the baby...but the chances are still very, very small that something will be seriously wrong.

It's a personal choice that each family has to make, but for us, there was someone missing from our lives. We couldn't give up, we knew he was supposed to be here with us. And now he almost is, and I wouldn't change it for the world, even with all the extra aches and pains and tiredness I am going to be going through for the next 5-10-20 years.







: I'm not one bit sorry to be having him right now...he's coming exactly when he was supposed to, because he is the one who is supposed to be here with us.

Good luck to you whatever you decide.


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## Sheryl1678

The whole "health risk" after 35 thing is a huge scare tactic to convince women to undergo unnecessary and potentially dangerous prenatal testing.

Yes, there is an increased risk of certain conditions such as Downs but some believe that these conditions are caused lower mineral stores in the mothers body (because she has had more years to deplete them).

In addition, more women tend to be obese or have health concerns such as diabetes at 40 than at 20. If you are healthy then you should not be worried. If you are obese or have diabetes then your pregnancy simply needs to be monitored a little more closely but you should not be "scared' by your OB.

Do make sure to increase your intake of vitamins and minerals. Get to a naturopath to test for any mineral deficiencies. Any deficiencies (and you probably have some at 40) could have a negative impact on your baby.


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## momuveight2B

I just had my last baby at 43, #8. I had a wonderful pregnancy and easy delivery. The peris never could find anything wrong with me and they really tried hard. I didn't have any interventions in my birth.


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## tamagotchi

I think that your general health is more important than your age. I'm almost 42 and about to have my 2nd baby (we'll see if the baby is born before or after my birthday). I've had a totally easy and healthy pregnancy so far.

There is a strong correlation between late childbearing and long life. For example here's a study which found that "women who lived to at least age 100 were four times more likely to have had children while in their forties than women who survived only to age 73." The researchers found that only 5.5 percent of the women who lived to age 73 had given birth in their 40's, but 19.5 percent of the women who lived to age 100 had children after 40; one of them had a child at age 53.

Middle-aged mothers live longer. Nature 389, 133 (11 September 1997)
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal.../389133a0.html

It's possible that women who are still fertile in their 40s are more likely to be healthy and long-lived in the first place. It's also possible that having a late pregnancy is actually healthy for us; it may tell our bodies to delay aging so that we'll be around longer to take care of our children and help with grandchildren.


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## speedknitter

Its all about the woman's health. When we decided to have #1, I was 40 and we got pregnant quickly, did have one miscarriage at 7 weeks prior to DD. My doctor was encouraging but cautious, said I was healthier than many 25 years olds he sees, but also reminded us of the inherent risks of being an older 1st time mom. He did get a little nervous toward the end, and tried to encourage a c-section prior to the due date, just to "not take any chances" as he worded it. I firmly told him i will not consider ANY measures until the due date came and went and he repsected that. Julie was born 4 days early, natural delivery (in hospital - no drugs, not even an IV) and I was 41 years old. 8 hours of labor start to finish. She was breech at 37 weeks but a successful external version meant we were able to have a vaginal delivery.

We are now ttc #2, and I just had a complete blood work done, and I'm healthy as a horse, FSH is a little higher than it was 3 years ago but still should be OK. I will be 44 next month







:


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## bloomingmom

i'm so glad to have found this thread!
dh and i have been trying to decide whether to "try" for number three. i've just turned 40 and am (i think) quite healthy, but well just uncertain. i was 35 and 38 with our first two. easy pregnancies and "easy" births. i keep feeling that someone is missing -- though dh is happy with two.
i've been looking for other moms who've been on a similar path/timeline. wanting to hear their stories.
thanks!


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## honeybee

I had a great-great grandmother who had a child at age 42 and then twins at 43. I think twins are supposedly more common in later years, because women are releasing more eggs in preparation for menopause (although, in my gt gma's case, she had identical twins, which is a split egg, not too many eggs released).

I think your overall health is a factor, and possibly how much space is between your children. Having a baby in your 40s after a gap of 10 years would be different then if you were having babies every 2-4 yrs, kwim?

As far as genetic issues like Down's Syndrome, my mom was just telling me about an article in Psychology Today that said new evidence shows the father's age is more of the determining factor. Men over 35 are more likely to have children with genetic issues, due to sperm quality. So, the fact that women over a certain age have more children with genetic issues is just a corollary to the fact that their partners are usually over a certain age. (So maybe Demi Moore has the right idea?







)

I just mention that as an example of how much we still DONT know about fertility and health and age and how many different factors go into it.


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## CookieLady

This thread is a Godsend... thank you all for your discussion on this subject that I am living with right now!! I'm 40 with a nearly 9 month old darling angel son and REALLY have the "baby bug" for #2. It's rather depressing to read the "statistics" out there about us "older mothers", but the more I read and talk to others about this, the more I'm seeing that age is just a number for many "older mothers." Thank you!!!


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## BuggyBee

I think it depends on the woman in question


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