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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When is it Safe to Get Pregnant After a Miscarriage?

Experiencing a miscarriage is a devastating event for most women. After the initial pain and grief of dealing with the loss, many women wonder when the best (and safest) time to conceive again is. What's the best time to get pregnant again after a miscarriage?

Conception After a Miscarriage: When's the Best Time to Try Again?

Most doctors recommend that women wait six months or more after having a miscarriage to get pregnant again. Now, a new study out of Scotland calls this wisdom into question. Researchers looked at data on over 30,000 women who had experienced a miscarriage and gone on to get pregnant again.

The results were interesting. They found that women who got pregnant again after a miscarriage were more likely to have a successful, uncomplicated pregnancy if they conceived within six months after their miscarriage. Not only were they less likely to miscarry again, but they had a lower incidence of premature births, Caesarian sections, and ectopic pregnancy.

Getting Pregnant After Having a Miscarriage: Is It Time to Change the Guidelines?

This study suggests that women who get pregnant again within six months of a miscarriage have a better overall outcome with fewer pregnancy or birth-related complications. With so many women getting pregnant later in life, time is an issue - and women in their forties may not have a year to wait to get pregnant again. The risk of complications is also higher in women who have babies later in life.

On the other hand, some women may not feel ready to conceive so soon after a miscarriage - and it's important that a woman be mentally as well as physically prepared. There's also the issue of when they'll start ovulating again. Usually, periods re-start within six weeks after a miscarriage, but this can vary with each individual.

Conception After a Miscarriage: The Bottom Line?

Before getting pregnant after a miscarriage, each women should have an evaluation by a doctor, particularly if they've had more than one miscarriage, have other health issues, or are over the age of 35. For women who are mentally prepared, it may be better to try again sooner rather than later, but this decision should be made after consulting a doctor.

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You're Pregnant! Choices, Advice and What to Do How to Begin Preparing for Your New Baby

You're going to have a baby! So much joy and excitement and planning all wrapped up in one, giant whirlwind! There are too many books on too many subjects and a vast array of videos, classes, and advisors to help you make one of the seemingly million decisions and choices there are to be made in less than a year's time.

There is an overload of information out there that can seem completely overwhelming, especially if you're the first of your close friends and family to have a baby (or first one to have one in the last 5-10 years). Where do you start? What direction do you go from there? How do you do it all in less than 9 months? How do you keep from panicking? Here are some words that may help:
take in a deep, deep breath. Hold it a second. Slowly breathe out that breath through your mouth as you let the stress flow from your neck & back,
First, B.R.E.A.T.H.E. - through your shoulders and hips, down your arms and legs and discharge from your fingers and toes. Feel better? No? Start all over again from the first step and repeat as many times as necessary until you feel calmer and ready to move on. Learn that technique well, because it will be extremely handy in all your coming parenting years.

                     

As soon as you begin telling people you are pregnant, you will be inundated with advice from family, friends, acquaintances, co-workers and other (mostly women) people in your life. As you begin showing, that advice will increase - both in volume and in source. Cashiers at the grocery store, the kind grandmotherly woman in line with you at the bank, and anyone who has something they feel you should know. (Also be prepared for belly touching: if you're not cool with it, come up with a response now and rehearse it, so it sounds authoritative but polite when you actually need to use it.) These people really do mean well, but when you have so much coming at you and most of it seems to all conflict with the rest, it can be disheartening and confusing. I'll tell you what I was told (unfortunately, after I was done getting pregnant, but I wish I'd have known it years earlier!): don't take it to heart.

What people forget, in their desire to help share knowledge and a true desire to make pregnancy, birth and motherhood easier for you is that no two people are exactly the same. What would have been fabulous information for them may be totally irrelevant to a majority of moms! Choose an option that is easiest for you, such as: listen carefully and tuck it away in your brain, just in case you need it for future reference; or listen with half an ear and smile, nod and say "thank you for taking the time to share that with me!"; focus on your grocery list and ignore what they're saying without having a glassy-eyed stare and then say, "It's so thoughtful of you to help me out by sharing that - thank you!"; then change the subject or move on. If you are appreciative of the person's intent and follow their advice with a non-committal acceptance, they feel that they've been heard *and* helped you out in some way, while you come away not feeling overwhelmed with yet another conflicting piece of information *and* that someone cared enough about you to try to help and everyone is satisfied.

With books, it is really hard to tell. There is a huge market for wedding and baby-related merchandise, so some publishers just put out baby/pregnancy/parenthood-themed books on a regular basis, with only an eye to what is popular, what will sell. I'd suggest something big-named (as in What to Expect When You're Expecting), something from a medical standpoint (like Dr. Sears) and something *old* - like published 20 years ago. Read these three choices as if they were a general guide for what you *really* want to be researching, and if information from the old book matches one other, chances are it isn't too bad to keep in mind; if all 3 books have matching information, chances are pretty good it might be something to put on the top of your list to research further.

After you've done a "general guide" research, you probably want to join some online pregnancy/birth/parenting chat groups that are state-based, or better yet nation-based. If they have 500+ members and a lot of activity, chances are you'll get a good, diverse representation - and be sure that they aren't specific groups (like home birth only or circumcision only - hearing about all options is an awesome thing!). Be sure to listen/read more than you talk/post - you can learn an *awful* lot from finding out what others are posting about and the answers they are getting.

Research everything! Even if you plan to basically go with the flow, or you have a plan of things you're aiming for, research everything. Research all types of hospital birth, all types of home birth, all types of birthing center options; doctors, midwives, doulas, birth coaching, water birth, natural birth, scheduled Cesarean, unscheduled Cesarean, vaginal birth after Cesarean, breach, induction, epidural, etc., etc., etc. and do this for all subjects: circumcision, vaccination, making your own baby food, organic food, breast feeding, bottle feeding, breast milk donations, allergies, gentle parenting, alternative parenting, preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, homeschooling, Waldorf education, placenta burial, placenta consumption, cloth diapers, disposable diapers, elimination communication, teething, weaning, first solids, schedules, baby-led, - EVERYTHING and anything to do with pregnancy and early motherhood (because you won't have time to read anything in early motherhood!).

Even if you know you won't ever avoid or delay vaccinations, even if you think even contemplating going out of the hospital with your afterbirth is disgusting, get some basic information about it. Each different aspect is going to give you some information about pregnancy and/or motherhood that you won't get from anywhere else; you'll get perspectives from other points of view and you'll get jumping-off points that will point you in directions you want to explore that you hadn't thought of before finding out about that. Knowledge is power and knowing you have all the information you can possibly find will help keep you calm and feeling ready all through your pregnancy and birth, and into motherhood.

Make lists. You'll find as you go through pregnancy that your memory is less than it was. Baby brain. It doesn't matter how hard you exercise that brain, you will have some memory deterioration. Make lists and notes along the way. Put together a good birth plan, including emergency birth plan. It is hard to think about, but as someone who had a preemie, it is well worth the discomfort and anxiety of thinking of the things that could go wrong to feel fully prepared when the time comes to deliver, and the sooner you have your birth plans, the better. Don't worry if you feel you don't have enough information yet, you can always change it as you go and learn.

Err on the side of caution. If you are undecided on an issue or not ready to commit to one thing, or if you and your partner have different ideas on an issue, err on the side of caution and choose what seems like the non-choice, non-invasive, "natural" way. It is much easier to implement something later than to undo something that was done out of ignorance or fear. For example, if you can't decide on vaccines: whether to go with the usual schedule, delay some vaccines or go the unvaccinated route, choose unvaccinated. A person can always be vaccinated later. If contracting a disease frightens you, get information: find actual rates of infection; out of those infected, how many become seriously ill or die? The numbers are very, very small and that may reassure you if you choose to not vaccinate. On the other hand, those numbers may solidify your decision to vaccinate on a schedule. Or, if you are in the camp of keeping a baby boy intact and your partner is adamantly for circumcision, you can choose to keep him intact and save the option for circumcising for later on; just because it is usually performed on a newborn doesn't mean it can be implemented later.

You need to take all that information and advice you've been accumulating over the last 8 or so months and choose what suits you and your baby. Don't let a family member or friend pressure you into a choice - you will get all the accolades or blame later on, so you are the one who must make the responsible choices with all the information that you can gather. Every one is different, so everyone's choices for their pregnancy and birth will be different. You and your partner and your child will have to live with your choices for the rest of your lives, so take your time and do what's right for you.

Congratulations and happy research, pregnancy and delivery to you!

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10 Common Signs of Fetal Distress

10 Common Signs of Fetal Distress - We all wonder what is going on inside the womb during pregnancy. Although we will never know what is going on at all times, there are a few things we can look for. Things that we can look for and "feel" for to know that everything is OK. There are a few ways we can tell if the fetus is in distress.

Fetal Movement

You should designate a certain time everyday that your baby is most active. Say between the hours of 7 pm and 8 pm after you have eaten dinner and are relaxed. Count how many times your baby kicks, as long as your baby is kicking at least 10 times in that hour everything is going OK. If you should be doing you kick counts and your baby hasn't moved at least 10 times in that hour. Then you should call your health care provider and let them know, that your baby is most active during this time and you are not experiencing much movement from your baby. They will then let you know where to go from there.

Vaginal bleeding or Spotting

A woman's body is an amazing thing. There are many ways that our body can let us know that something is going wrong especially during pregnancy. Spotting or Bleeding in early pregnancy, can sometimes mean that your body may be warning you about a miscarriage. If you are experiencing bleeding and or spotting and you are only few weeks along contact your health care provider immediately as this can be a sign of miscarriage,

Cramps/Cramping

Cramping during pregnancy can result in a series of things. If you are experiencing any type of cramps with any sort of bleeding, you should contact your health care provider this can be a sign of fetal distress. This feelings could be the symptoms of a miscarriage. If you are having severe cramps and pelvic pain contact your health care provider to let them know of your issues. They will then be able to let you know what you should do about the issues.



High Blood Pressure

Every time that you go in to see your OBGYN during your pregnancy they are going to check your blood pressure. If at any point you are experiencing high blood pressure this can be a sign of fetal distress. There are many reasons a pregnant woman can experience high blood pressure during pregnancy. One most common problem that is resulted with high blood pressure is pre-eclampsia . Pre eclampsia is a medical condition only found during pregnancy. Pre-eclampsia is a condition of hypertension during pregnancy. If you are diagnosed with pre-eclampsia your OBGYN will want to deliver the baby as soon as possible. Pre- eclampisa will also go away after delivery.

Fetal heart rate

During your pregnancy your OBGYN will check your baby's heart rate. Every time you go to the hospital during your pregnancy they will check your baby's heart rate. If your babies heart rate is not sound the way that it should. Or if your babies heart rate is decreasing this can mean a number of things. Your health care provider will figure out what the cause of the decrease is. It can be lack of oxygen , and umbilical cord issues. These are uncommon issues in pregnancy your health care provider with be able to let you know the situation.

Meconium

Meconium is the first stool that a baby passes. The baby can expel its meconium during labor and delivery. Your health care provider will be able to tell when your water breaks. Instead of clear fluid, your water will have a color to it. This can cause the baby to have fetal distress. This can give your baby an infection if they happen to breath it in.

Umbilical cord issues

There are many things that can cause fetal distress pertaining to your babies umbilical cord. Your baby could have what they call a Nuchal cord, meaning that your baby has there cord wrapped around there neck in the womb. Which can then cause lack of oxygen. Your health care provider would be able to tell on an ultrasound, also by monitoring the babies heart rate.

Weight gain

Many doctors will tell you that the average weight gain for a pregnancy should be between 25-35 pounds. If you are experiencing a low amount of weight gain, that could be a sign of fetal distress. Your amniotic fluid may be low or your baby may not be getting enough nutrients. If you are experiencing a high amount of weight gain, your baby may be growing much bigger than your body can handle, or it could be a sign of gestational diabetes. All of these issues can be a sign of fetal distress. Your health care provider will be able to tell you what is going on, or if your excessive weight gain or low weight gain is normal.

Gestational Diabetes

Gestational diabetes is when a woman without diabetes is diagnosed with diabetes during her pregnancy. Your doctor will be able to tell if you have gestational diabetes by running normal tests during your pregnancy. This can cause the baby to grow much bigger than the baby normally would. Causing fetal distress during delivery.

Premature rupture of membranes.

If your water breaks before 37 weeks this can be a sign of fetal distress. Your baby is trying to come earlier than what is safe for them. If you experience premature rupture of your membranes you need to get to labor and delivery quickly. There a doctor will be able to tell you what the issue is with your baby. It is not safe to deliver earlier than 37 weeks gestation.

Every woman who has had a baby knows the excitement of pregnancy and birth. Every pregnant woman knows how anxious they are feeling knowing if the baby is OK. These are all normal feelings, enjoy your pregnancy to the fullest. This might just help you enjoy your pregnancy a little better.

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