Pregnancy after 35

Most healthy women who get pregnant after age 35 and even into their 40s have healthy babies. However, pregnancy after 35 does have some risks. According to Mayo Clinic, a woman planing to conceive after the age of 35 may face the following challenges: (1) It might take longer to get pregnant. Every woman is born with a limited number of eggs. In the early 30s, your eggs might decline in quality — and you might ovulate less frequently, even if youre still having regular periods. An older womans eggs also arent fertilized as easily as a younger womans eggs. So it may take longer to get pregnant. (2) More likely to have a multiple pregnancy. The chance of having twins increases with age. The use of assisted reproductive technologies - such as in vitro fertilization - also can play a role. (3) More likely to develop gestational diabetes. This type of diabetes occurs only during pregnancy, and its more common as women get older. Tight control of blood sugar through diet, physical activity and other lifestyle measures is essential. (4) More likely to develop high blood pressure during pregnancy. Some studies suggest that high blood pressure that develops during pregnancy - before 20 weeks (chronic hypertension), after 20 weeks (gestational hypertension) or after 20 weeks and accompanied by protein in the urine (preeclampsia) — might be more common in older women. (5) You might need a C-section. Older mothers have a higher risk of pregnancy-related complications that might lead to a C-section delivery, such as placenta previa - a condition in which the placenta blocks the cervix. Labor problems tend to be more common in first-time mothers older than 35. (6) The risk of chromosome abnormalities is higher. Babies born to older mothers have a higher risk of certain chromosome problems, such as Down syndrome. (7) The risk of miscarriage is higher. The risk of miscarriage also increases as you get older, perhaps due to the higher likelihood of chromosomal abnormalities. ...

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