Advanced Age Pregnancies and Developmental Problems

I know ladies that had babies mid 40s and they were healthy. I know ladies that had babies mid 40s and they were born with a few medical challenges. I know ladies in their 20s that had babies with a few medical challenges.

Are there increased risks the older you get? Yes. Are they 100%, no. The doctor WILL cover everything tho, so that if that baby happened to be born with a medical condition, that Mom can't come back and say, you should've told me.

My SIL had two healthy kids in her early and mid 40's. That said, 90% of downs babies are aborted, so sometimes our perceptions of how many moms are having healthy/normal kids at advanced maternal age is not based in reality.

its a myth, doctors are now using to discourage older women from becoming mothers. and to put more money in their pockets at the same time. advanced maternal age used to mean 45-50, nowdays, advanced maternal age means any woman past 25! my obgyn tried the same scare tactics, telling me i was "ULTRA HIGH RISK", i became a mommy for the
first time at the "advanced age" of 40, our baby was born in our bathroom at 28 weeks, no developmental problems, no downs, no deformities..nothing but a beautiful little red headed girl who tipped the scales at 2 pounds, 6 ounces and a record 14 inches..she is now just shy of four and a half and she is four feet tall, tell your friend to find another doctor...K. h.

As time goes by more knowledge comes about. Our health is better now than it was 20 years ago and even 10 years ago.

Think about how life was 50 years ago. Women routinely died in childbirth. Today it's rare.

Medical knowledge has advanced so much and we are not at risk for so many things we used to have to worry about.

Of course genetic issues can happen to anyone before they are born. That is something that just happens, Down's is one of those chromosomal defects that happen to any fetus. It's all about how they divide and grow.

I have friends that got pregnant in their late 40's. My husband's grandmother had children in her 50's. He always has to go through hoops when doing her genealogy. They keep showing an error for her age at her child's birth.

None of her kids had anything wrong with them and they were born nearly 80 years ago.

I think it's fine to be careful and try your best to take care of your body while carrying another. But worrying about things totally out of a mother's control only hurts her and possibly the baby.

I think it's all a joke. I had my last at 41. I did the maternity21 test. It's diagnostic, at 10 weeks, and it relieved my fears. But I know lots of older moms. A friend just had testing done to see if she was a good candidate for artificial insemination. I'm a day older than her. In any case, they told her she looks great, with an egg count more typical of a 34 year old.

I once asked my midwife about it and she laughed.she only considers women over 46 "high risk."

Never trust the words of a male doctor with women's issues. I interviewed multiple OBs before deciding they were all assholes.

Tell your friend to get a midwife. They actually know about women and having babies.

I had my kids at 36 and 38. They are perfect!:-)

Developmental issues can happen at any age of pregnancy.
Downs, can happen at ANY age or pregnancy as well.
It does not only happen, to "older" Moms.
It is not only older Moms, who have unhealthy babies etc.

A woman I know, had her 2nd child, planned, at 46 years old.
Her pregnancy was just fine, and her child was born just fine, and he has no developmental or health issues. She did not have any health issues with the pregnancy either.

Nowadays, there are many women having kids at later ages.
It just depends.

I had both my kids late.
From about 35 years old (or maybe it was 38 years old), that is considered "advanced maternal age."
Just so you know.
I was fine with my pregnancies, and my kids were born just fine and they had no developmental issues or problems then or now.

I had my first baby at 40. My understanding was that if it is NOT the first baby (2nd or after) the chances are much better that the baby will be without issues. This was from a friend who is a fertility specialist. BTW, my child was born healthy.

I had mine at 38 and 43 and they are both healthy. My second was diagnosed IUGR at 38 weeks (c-section the next day), but now at 18 months old is in the 90-95% for height and 75% for weight, so no real problems.