So many couples spend years and years planning for their future, and they don’t focus on starting a family until later in life. Sometimes, it is not until women are in their 40’s that they are ready to have a baby. Is getting pregnant after 40 okay? Many times, women will find that they are still fertile in their 40’s, but this is not always the case.
Age and Fertility
Research has shown that the fertility of women starts decreasing after the age of 30. At first the rate of decrease is fairly low, but it increases considerably after the age of 35. The biggest drop, according to experts, is between 40 and 45. Simply put, a woman’s chances of getting pregnant in her 40’s are much lower than in her 30’s and 20’s. This is not the case with men whose fertility starts to decrease considerably after the age of 60. Still, sperm quality deteriorates with age and this may pose problems as well.
Risk Factors for the Baby
A woman is born with a fixed number of eggs in her ovaries. During each menstrual cycle, an egg is released and, if it does not get fertilized, leaves the body through menstruation. As time passes, the number of eggs drops, but this is not the only issue. The chances of an improperly developed egg with chromosomal abnormalities getting fertilized become much higher. When the father is older, there are also developmental risks for the fetus due to lower quality of the man’s sperm.
When the future mother is in her 40’s, her body may have difficulties coping with the pregnancy. The risk of the woman developing certain conditions such as hypertension is much greater. Furthermore, there may be placental problems which can affect the development of the fetus. Still, with proper care and effective monitoring from doctors, these risks are significantly reduced.
In general, even though the risks for the fetus and the mother are greater when she is in her 40’s, the number of cases in which complications occur is fairly low. Hence, you should be aware of the possible issues, but this is certainly not a reason to get discouraged.
Alternatives to Natural Conception
Science and technology have forever changed the world of medicine. Now, there are many artificial ways to get pregnant. When women have issues with fertility, they can go to a fertility clinic and get pregnant through fertility treatment, in-vitro fertilization, donor eggs and many other methods. So, just because it doesn’t happen naturally doesn’t mean that you don’t have options.
It certainly pays off to do some research before you decide whether to get pregnant in your 40’s.
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