Pregnancy Risks in Advanced Maternal Age Your chance of miscarriage is increased, along with an increased risk of developing gestational diabetes, high blood pressure, and having a child that is preterm. You are also at risk for conceiving a child who has a chromosomal abnormality, such as Down's syndrome.
Can you have a normal, healthy pregnancy at 45? Yes. Assuming you have top-notch prenatal care during your pregnancy, you eat well and have a healthy lifestyle, you take care of yourself during your nine months, and you come into your pregnancy as healthy as can be, your pregnancy can be problem-free.
At this age, you have some challenges that make it harder to become and stay pregnant. 45 and beyond: Your likelihood of becoming pregnant at this age is no more than 3 or 4%. While it's not impossible to conceive, assisted reproductive technologies are almost always required to enhance your success rate.
“It's exceptionally rare for patients to get pregnant naturally at 50 or over 45. They make history,” said Dr. David Keefe, an obstetrician-gynecologist and fertility researcher at New York University. In part that's because around age 50, many women are entering menopause, after which egg harvesting isn't possible.
For most people, estrogen levels begin to fall gradually when they are in their 40s. A person will continue to ovulate and menstruate, but periods may become irregular or less frequent.
Women have “perfect” eggs below the age 30, but then egg quality starts to decline, which explains declining fertility. Over the age of 45, almost all the eggs which fertilise will create chromosomally abnormal embryos and therefore the chance of healthy, ongoing pregnancy is close to zero.
If you're pregnant at 41, 43, or older, you may understandably worry about how your age may impact your pregnancy. Luckily, while the risks of complications are lower in your 20s and 30s, you can have a healthy pregnancy in your 40s, particularly if you are otherwise in good health and get regular prenatal care.
At 45, your chances of getting pregnant are no more than 3% or 4%. That's not to say it's impossible, but assisted reproductive technologies (ART) are almost always necessary, with IVF being the most common.
It is true that fertility does decline with age, but many women conceive naturally aged over 40 and go on to have healthy pregnancies and healthy babies.
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.
Is it dangerous to be pregnant at age 47? "The scientific literature says women do quite well in pregnancy at this age," Grifo said. "But it is a little riskier. There's a higher risk of developing high blood pressure, diabetes, and needing a C-section, all of which are manageable."
By age 43, your egg supply is near its end. Your risk of pregnancy complications, such as high blood pressure and gestational diabetes, increases after 35 as well, and continues to rise into your 40s. Miscarriage rates begin to skyrocket in your 40s as well.
Pregnancy Risks in Advanced Maternal Age
Your chance of miscarriage is increased, along with an increased risk of developing gestational diabetes, high blood pressure, and having a child that is preterm. You are also at risk for conceiving a child who has a chromosomal abnormality, such as Down's syndrome.
By the time a woman reaches 40, she'll be down to about 18,000 (3% of her pre-birth egg supply). Although the chances of conception are lower, this does not mean it is impossible to conceive at this age.
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).
Thus, the pregnancy rate even with IVF (using her own eggs) is less than 5% in women above age 42 years. They are even lower at age 44 and practically zero at age 45 years.
Though studies show that 10-25% of all pregnancies end in miscarriage, with advanced maternal age, this risk increases exponentially. To wit, between the ages of 40-44, 34% of pregnancies end in miscarriage. After 45, this number jumps to 53%.
IVF Success Rates Over 40
For women over 40, the IVF success rate is around 7%, with women under 42 having a higher rate of success than women over 42 years of age. In many cases, women over 40 may decide to use donor eggs.