“Most women over the age of 35 years will still have a healthy pregnancy and baby.” While most women over the age of 35 years will still have a healthy pregnancy and baby, virtually all pregnancy risks and complications increase as the age of the woman increases.
After age 35, there's a higher risk of pregnancy-related complications that might lead to a C-section delivery. The risk of chromosomal conditions is higher. Babies born to older mothers have a higher risk of certain chromosomal conditions, such as Down syndrome. The risk of pregnancy loss is higher.
Geriatric Pregnancy Risks
Problems can arise no matter how old you are when you get pregnant. But some become more likely when you hit 35, including: High blood pressure, which can lead to preeclampsia (dangerously high blood pressure and organ damage) Gestational diabetes.
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.
Advanced maternal age describes a pregnancy where the birthing person is older than 35. Pregnant people over age 35 are more at risk for complications like miscarriage, congenital disorders and high blood pressure. Screening tests can help detect certain congenital disorders.
The risk of chromosomal abnormality increases with maternal age. The chance of having a child affected by Down syndrome increases from about 1 in 1,250 for a woman who conceives at age 25, to about 1 in 100 for a woman who conceives at age 40.
For example, a woman at 30 often has around 100,000-150,000 eggs in reserve. By 35, that number is likely around 80,000. Late into the thirties, that number could be 25,000, 10,000, or fewer.
Because older women are more likely than younger women to have a baby with a birth defect, if you're older than 35 you may want to have some prenatal tests to see if your baby is at risk.
As men age, their risk of fathering a child with Down syndrome may increase—the older the man, the more likely that the process of spermatogenesis, or sperm production will go awry, leading to sperm that contain errors like an extra chromosome.
Risk for chromosome problems
The chance of having a child with Down syndrome increases over time. The risk is about 1 in 1,250 for a woman who conceives at age 25. It increases to about 1 in 100 for a woman who conceives at age 40.
About 8 percent are born between 34 and 36 weeks of gestation (the time from conception to birth) About 1.5 percent are born between 32 and 33 weeks of gestation. About 2 percent are born under 32 weeks of gestation.
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.
Of all live births in the United States during 2018-2020 (average), 4.6% were to women under the age of 20, 47.5% were to women ages 20-29, 44.4% were to women ages 30-39, and 3.5% were to women ages 40 and older.
Your baby is around 46.2cm long from head to heel. That's approximately the size of a honeydew melon. Your baby is getting chubbier, which will help them to stay at the right temperature when they're born.
The study found that pregnancy rates decreased progressively with increasing age of the recipient female patient 6. The cumulative pregnancy rate observed up to 12 insemination cycles was 74% for women younger than 31 years and decreased to 62% for women aged 31–35 years and to 54% for women older than 35 years 6.
There is currently no way to prevent or cure Down syndrome. Prenatal testing allows you and your family to make informed decisions, including ending the pregnancy. For this reason, before you have the test it's a good idea to think about why you are choosing to do it, and how you will feel once you get the results.
By the time a woman reaches 40, as many as 60 percent of her eggs will contain an abnormal number of chromosomes. In other words, chromosomal abnormalities are more likely to develop in the eggs of older women.
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. “A healthy 38-year-old could have an easier pregnancy than a 20-year-old who has multiple medical issues,” Dr. Kalish says.