Risks of Having a Baby After 40

Becoming a mother is supposed to be an exciting time in a woman's life, but sometimes due to natural factors or a busy work life, this can lead to getting pregnant later in her life. In the past, women tended to have babies at a younger age. Today, many women are active contributors to the household's income leaving them with not much available time to raise a family. By the time some women realize that they do want to have a baby, they are already well on their way to being older than 40.

There are several risk factors when a woman wants to or gets pregnant after the age of 40 ranging from genetic factors that will affect the child, to acquiring new unwanted health issues for the mother. Due to the body being weaker because of age, and sometimes health status of the mother at the time of conception, miscarriages and still births can be common in older women. Miscarriages can happen to a woman at any age and occurs naturally when your body doesn't feel strong enough to develop a baby.

A genetic disorder that concerns most women over 40 is the risk that her baby will be born with Down Syndrome. A woman's eggs age as she ages, and unlike the healthy egg division in a younger pregnant woman, women over 40 have a greater risk of not having her egg dividing normally. Other risks include diabetes and high blood pressure. All of these risks are said to increase each year after the age of 35 and vary in severity woman to woman. Although, today's medical technology and other advancements do give an older mother to be better chances at successful pregnancies. Chances for genetic disease and health risks may be increased for older women, but that does not mean they can't have a happy healthy baby.

Culture shock is a concern of many mothers over 40, as having a child at an older age means loosing a lot of the independence she once had. No more spontaneous brunches with the girls in the middle of the day, though one could possibly get her spontaneity back as the child gets to be school age. Another concern is that society may also look differently at an older woman deciding to have a child later in life.

A benefit to getting pregnant and having a child after 40 is being financially stable. Most women are not in a steady job by their 20s, even 30s, but older women have had the time to create that stable job and save some money. Not only might she have a more stable life, but the child's life will be stable too. Finding a life partner who you want to share a family with may also be more likely for women in their 40s, as a hard working and contributing partner to the household is also an added benefit.

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