Information : Pregnancy in older women

Pregnancy in older women

It is now much more common to become a mother in later life than it ever was. The last time any statistics were taken (1998), births to women over 30 constituted 44% of the total.

Conception

The first thing to consider as an older mother is the likelihood of conception. Fertility is at its peak in women between the ages of 20 to 24 years, who have around an 86% chance of getting pregnant. This drops in women aged 30 to 35 to between 50 and 60%, with a further drop to around 36% in women aged 40. There are several reasons for this, one of which being the fact that there are fewer viable eggs to fertilise.

IVF

It may be that after having no success trying to conceive through natural means, you may want to opt for In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF).This involves fertility drug treatment to stimulate egg production. Eggs are then extracted, combined with sperm in a Petri dish
and left to incubate. Depending on your age, two to three of the embryos that should
have developed will then be re-inserted into the womb. The average success rate of IVF is around 17%.This is your percentage chance of giving birth to a healthy baby per treatment cycle.
Multiple births are one of the main drawbacks and side effects of IVF. Over 25% of successfully treated IVF patients give birth to twins compared to 1 in 90 in the general population. Other risks with IVF include a higher incidence of ectopic pregnancy, over stimulated ovaries, and the fear of ovarian cancer, although there is no real evidence of a link as yet.

Risks

Downs syndrome
The risk of Downs syndrome increases as women get older. At rates of around 1 in 1000
in the under thirties, the risk increases to 1 in 300 at 35, 1 in 100 at 40 and around 1 in 40
at 45. An amniocentesis can detect any possibility of chromosomal abnormalities but be aware that this test carries a 1 in 200 chance of inducing a miscarriage.

Other risks

There is increased risk of miscarriage in older mothers. This risk rises from 6.4% in the under 35’s to 23.1% in women over 40. Older placentas can give rise to problems including premature birth. The risk of gestational diabetes is increased, as is the possibility of pre-eclampsia which is connected to high blood pressure. Caesareans are more common in older mothers but the reasons for this are unclear.

The more mature woman tends to enter into the world of childbirth with preparedness, life experience and usually a stable and secure home environment. The undoubted improvements in health care in this area will also help to make pregnancy later in life a safer, more stress free experience. Older mothers have a lot to offer society in raising well rounded, secure feeling individuals.