About 20% of women in the U.S. now have their first child after age 35. You may have heard that getting pregnant can be more difficult as you age. Or that it's riskier for both the mom's and the baby's health. While these can be issues when having children later in life, many concerns are manageable.
A woman's peak reproductive years are between the late teens and late 20s. By age 30, fertility (the ability to get pregnant) starts to decline. This decline happens faster once you reach your mid-30s. By 45, fertility has declined so much that getting pregnant naturally is unlikely.
Forty-something pregnancies are no longer considered extremely unusual. In 2016, for the first time, women giving birth in their 30s outnumbered women who gave birth in their 20s. And birth rates have gone up the fastest for women over 40, rising 19 percent since 2007.
Even with all the understandable talk of “windows of opportunity” and “biological clocks,” there are ways for women over 35 to make motherhood a reality. Infertility treatments can be difficult and expensive, but fertility specialists can talk with you about options. Age is less of a limitation than it used to be.
Rest assured, most healthy women who get pregnant after age 35 and even into their 40s have healthy babies. That doesn't mean you shouldn't think about smart ways to make sure you and your baby stay as healthy as possible during your pregnancy.
But as people get older, they face an increased risk of medical issues that can potentially complicate their pregnancy. While delivering at age 35 and older is officially considered “advanced maternal age,” Dr. Kalish notes that in reality, there's no “magic number” for being at-risk for complications.
Women who become pregnant in their 30s and early 40s can have safe, healthy pregnancies, says Ellie Ragsdale, MD, director of fetal intervention at UH Cleveland Medical Center. But they do face a higher risk of some problems.
This is because, between the ages of 30 and 40 years, a woman's chance of conceiving per cycle fall from approximately 20% to just 5%.
Remember the study mentioned above, the one that found women age 35 to 39 had a 29% chance of conceiving on their most fertile day? That same study found that if a woman's partner was five years older, their odds dropped to 15%. Essentially, their odds halved. Keep in mind that these are the odds of conception.
Supplements containing Myo-inositol, folic acid and melatonin have been shown to help improve egg quality and ovarian function.
Down syndrome occurs in people of all races and economic levels. The risk increases with the mother's age (1 in 1250 for a 25 year old mother to 1 in 1000 at age 31, 1 in 400 at age 35, and about 1 in 100 at age 40).
The key to your fertility is through the foods you eat. Make sure to include lean protein, fruits, and vegetables in your everyday diet. Eating a healthy diet is a great way to increase your chances of getting pregnant, especially when you're over 35.
If you're older than 35 and hoping to get pregnant, you're in good company. Many families are delaying pregnancy well into their 30s and beyond — and delivering healthy babies. Taking special care can help give your baby the best start.
Male Fertility Facts
Peak male fertility is around 25-29 years old. Sperm quality begins to decline at 30. At 45, men begin to experience a significant decrease in semen volume. Older men can also take longer to conceive a child.
The oldest recorded mother to date to conceive was 73 years. According to statistics from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, in the UK more than 20 babies are born to women over age 50 per year through in-vitro fertilization with the use of donor oocytes (eggs).
Female fertility begins to decline faster after the age of 30. It declines more significantly after the age of 35. Male fertility begins to decline faster after the age of 40. It declines more significantly after the age of 45.
35 is no magic number
The rate of decline speeds up once you get to 32, and then it speeds up again at about age 37. By the time you reach the age of 40, your fertility has dropped significantly. It's still possible to get pregnant, but it might take a lot longer than you expected.
An adequate intake of folic acid during pregnancy, believed to protect against neural tube defects (NTDs) in babies, may also help prevent Down's syndrome, researchers report in The Lancet this week.
Definition of geriatric pregnancy
We define advanced maternal age (formerly geriatric pregnancy) as those who are 35 years or older at their estimated delivery date.
In a sample of 75 children with trisomy for chromosome 21, or Down syndrome, there were 42 males and 33 females. The sex ratio was 1.30 which is statistically not significant (p greater than 0.05).
Some studies show that while there is a higher risk of pregnancy problems in older women, their babies may not have more problems than babies of younger women. This is more likely when women get prenatal care and give birth in a healthcare facility ready to care for high-risk mothers and babies.
As you get closer to 40, it's biologically more difficult to get pregnant and you may have a higher risk of miscarriage, chromosomal issues, and other pregnancy complications. But most women in their 30s will get pregnant with little trouble.