Pregnancy Over 35

Pregnancy After 35 – What Are The Risks?

In today’s world more and more women are choosing a career before starting a family. This means that the number of pregnancies in woman over 35 years of age has increased over the past years. There are two major concerns for women who are pregnant over the age of 35; how will the pregnancy affect her and how will her age affect her pregnancy. There is an increase in the chance of complications during pregnancy in women who are older than 35. The possible complications which you would possibly face include:

• Baby born with Down Syndrome
• High blood pressure
• Diabetes
• Pelvic pressure or pelvic pain
• Pre-eclampsia
• Cesarean delivery
• Multiple births
• Placental abruption
• Bleeding
• Premature labor

An older women who is pregnant will have to deal with more issues younger women will not have. Basically your body will be younger, stronger and better geared towards handling the stress and strains of pregnancy at 22 than after 35 or over. Recent research has shown that twice as many women suffer from diabetes during pregnancy than those who are younger than 35. Down Syndrome is far more common in women who are older. Look at the following table and you will see that from the age of 35 the risk is hugely increased:

1 in 1300 births at 25 years old 1 in 965 births at 30 years old 1 in 365 births at 35 years old 1 in 109 births at 40 years old 1 in 32 births at 45 years old 1 in 12 births at 49 years old

Your general health will play a big role in how good your pregnancy is as well. The older you are, the less chance there is that you are fit enough to cope. You will want to ensure that your health is of a good standard prior to falling pregnant, by following a healthy eating plan and exercise on a regular basis.