Grace was 43 and she suddenly found
herself pregnant with the fourth baby. It was completely unexpected, and
she contemplated
an abortion. However, her friends talked her out of
it. She accepted their counselling and opted to have the baby. She
nearly lost her life.
Midway into the pregnancy, she developed
what the doctors called placental abruption. The placenta stuck out of
her body and simply hung there. Her physician advised her to use
sanitary pad until after the delivery – an additional burden for a
pregnant woman, if you ask me.
Worse still, she was informed that due to
her age and the turn of event, she would have to be delivered via a
Caesarian Section and that her womb would be expunged alongside.
Desperate to live, Grace accepted the conditions. But despite her
doctor’s assurances, she was afraid for her life and that of her baby.
She did have the baby safely, though, but what happened gives an insight into the world of ageing pregnant women.
As the economy bites harder everywhere in
the world, people are making all sorts of adjustments to make ends meet
and to also plan for the future. As a result, many are putting off
marriage till they are well established in their careers and financially
confident – usually in the early/mid-30s.
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| Fertility Chat. |
While no one can tell anybody when to
marry or have children, experts warn that delaying child-bearing for too
long may not be wise, after all. And this goes for women and men.
But while men have the advantage of
lifelong fertility, women don’t; as, experts say, pregnancy becomes a
lot more elusive by the time a woman hits three-and-a-half-decades and
beyond.
Gynaecologist, Dr. Tomiwa Aduwo, says the
biggest obstacle for women age 35 or older may be getting pregnant in
the first place. He explains, “Fertility rates begin to decline
gradually at age 30, more so at 35, and markedly at age 40. Even with
fertility treatments such as in-vitro fertilisation, women have more
difficulty getting pregnant as they age.”
Online portal, womenshealthmag.com,
notes that while most of these pregnancies go smoothly, the fact is,
maternal medicine experts classify them as “high risk” because older
mothers are more likely to face complications that can affect their
health as well as that of their baby.
As such, if you are planning to have a
baby now that you are on the other side of 30, do bear the following
considerations in mind.
The American Society for Reproductive
Medicine notes that a 30-year-old has a 20 per cent chance of getting
pregnant per cycle, but by the time she’s 40, her odds sink to five per
cent per cycle. Researchers therefore advise that if you’ve been trying
for six months without luck, consult a fertility specialist.
Obstetrician/Gynaecologist and co-author
of V is for Vagina, Dr. Alyssa Dweck, says many of the things that make
it tougher for older ladies to conceive – such as uterine fibroids or
irregular periods – can be treated.
At this age, too, physicians say,
conceiving a baby with chromosomal problems is real. The National
Institute of Health warns that every woman has a chance of having a baby
with problems, no matter what her age. Experts say this risk goes up as
you age.
They note, “If you get pregnant at age
25, your risk of having a baby with Down syndrome, for example, is about
one in 1,250. At age 40, the risk is one in 100. This is because by the
time you enter the late 30s, your eggs are already ‘senior citizens,’
and they don’t divide as well upon conception. That increases the odds
of an embryo with chromosomal problems, which in turn may result in
miscarriage or birth defects.”
Regular counseling with your physician is
a must at this stage, what with the series of tests – including blood
tests and full anatomy ultrasound – that will be done to check for
possible genetic abnormalities.
The ageing mom-to-be has a long road to
travel, if metaphorically. Physicians say even after you get pregnant,
age continues to have an effect. “The older you are when you are
pregnant, the more likely you are to have chronic diseases such as high
blood pressure or diabetes. If they are not diagnosed, they can affect
the pregnancy,” physicians enthuse.
Aduwo warns, “The ageing mom-to-be is at
higher risk of developing certain complications during pregnancy, such
as gestational diabetes, preeclampsia (a medical condition characterised
by high blood pressure and significant amounts of protein in the urine
of a pregnant woman), placental abruption (in which the placenta
prematurely separates from the uterine wall), and placenta previa (in
which the placenta lies low in the uterus, partly or completely covering
the cervix).”
He continues, “Research also shows that
the chances of having a low-birth-weight baby or a premature delivery
increases with age. Some studies show that older women are more likely
to be induced, and most studies show a significantly higher rate of
delivery by C-Section.”
He advises women in this class to
intimate their doctors with any family history of chronic conditions. He
also says they must keep all scheduled prenatal appointments, so that
the doctor can catch any condition before it bludgeons into high health
risk.
Doctors also warn that women over age 35
are more likely to have prolonged labour lasting more than 20 hours and
excessive bleeding during delivery.
And where there are no health issues for
an ageing mom, researchers say, the possibility of having multiple
births increases with age. And unless you have the resources or actually
look forward to it, the situation can become traumatic, what with many
babies to care for at a go!
The National Report on Human Exposure to
Environmental Chemicals issued by the Centres for Disease Control and
Prevention confirms that the chances of having multiple births increases
in your late 30s, even without fertility treatments. The drawback here,
experts warn, is that the more babies a woman carries per pregnancy,
the greater her risk of delivering early and/or having low birth-weight
pre-term babies, who may end up with lingering health issues.
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