Pregnancy After 35
What You Should Know
There may be a variety of reasons for the trend, but the facts are clear: Many women are delaying pregnancy well into their 30s and beyond.
If you're one of them, you should know that both your chances of conceiving and delivering a healthy baby are reduced after age 30. But that doesn't mean both can't be accomplished.
For starters, if you're over 35 and are not yet pregnant but wish to be, there are several things you can do – both to increase your chance of becoming pregnant and to proactively increase your baby's chance of being healthy.
Increasing Your Odds of Getting Pregnant
You can improve your odds of conceiving in a number of ways.
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Men should:
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Men and women should:
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Women of any age who wish to become pregnant should start taking 400 micrograms of folic acid every day – preferably before they even become pregnant. Folic acid is a B vitamin that helps prevent birth defects of the brain and spinal cord (called neural tube defects) in the fetus. While these types of birth defects are the most common of the serious birth defects, you can significantly cut your baby's risk if you begin taking folic acid right away.
Your next step is to consult your ob/gyn and discuss your health and medical history with him or her. If you have ongoing health issues such as high blood pressure or diabetes, you will need to get them under control. Once pregnant, both your health and your baby's will need to be monitored closely to help prevent complications and address them early if they do arise.
If you have been trying unsuccessfully to conceive for one year or longer, you might want to consult a fertility specialist. Ask your ob/gyn to refer you to one.
After Conception
Once you become pregnant, you should follow your doctor's advice
to give your baby the best start possible. The importance of good prenatal
care cannot be underestimated for pregnant women over 35. However, even
if you do follow your doctor's orders, you may not be able to control
everything that happens during your pregnancy.
Pregnancy after age 35 carries with it certain risks. For instance, women over age 35 are more likely to have babies with Down syndrome. They are also more likely to develop complications such as preeclampsia – a condition in which a woman's blood pressure rises sharply during the third trimester of pregnancy. This condition can cause premature birth or low birth weight and can also disrupt the baby's blood supply and prevent the baby from getting proper nutrients.
Gestational diabetes is also a concern. With this condition, normally healthy women develop high blood sugar levels. Women with gestational diabetes often have very large babies, making vaginal delivery more difficult.
During your pregnancy, your doctor may urge you to have additional testing to see if your baby is developing normally. An amniocentesis is routinely considered for women who will be 35 or older at delivery. In this test, the doctor removes a fluid sample from the amniotic sac surrounding the baby. The fluid is then examined to see if there are any chromosomal problems such as Down syndrome and to check for other conditions, such as spina bifida and other neural tube defects.
Now that you understand the risks and challenges you'll face, it's
important that you also understand that most women – including those
over 35 – do have healthy pregnancies and healthy babies. As long
as you take care of your health and your baby's and follow your doctor's
advice, you are more likely to be one of them.
