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Pregnancy After 35
October 10, 2007
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These days many women are waiting until later in life to start a family. But waiting
to get pregnant could mean more risks.
During her first marriage Michelle Blackwood faced fertility problems. “We made
several attempts at getting pregnant and it just didn’t happen so I assumed it was
not possible for years,” says Blackwood. But it was a different story the second
time around. She says, “I got engaged and we were planning our future without having
any kids in mind and low and behold I just found out I was pregnant and that was
a big shock for me”.
Blackwood is almost 40 years old and
now expecting her first child. She says her
pregnancy proved to be challenging both mentally and physically. “At first it was
exciting and then the next few months the morning sickness started and then I’m
like what am I doing at this age with all of these issues”.
Dr. Dirk Peterson with Lee Physician Group says there is one specific reason why
the risk of birth defects is also higher for women over age 35. “That’s primarily
due to the fact that the egg that the woman uses to create her fetus is eight months
older than she is. It was developing inside her ovary before she was born. So when
you’re 35 or 40 years old there’s a chance that that egg has
been damaged at some
point either from radiation or poisons in the environment. If the fetus happens
to be developed from an egg that’s been damaged you have a baby with a birth defect
potentially,” says Peterson.
Physicians say women over age 35 are also at risk for developing things like diabetes
and lupus which also increase the risk of birth defects. That’s why Dr. Peterson
says he recommends that patients that if they’re thinking about getting pregnant
and they are over the age of 35 they should
see a physician before conception occurs.
Women who are pregnant and over 35 years old also are at a greater risk for having
an emergency cesarean section. Taking the right pre-natal vitamins or getting the
proper amount of folic acid can reduce the risk of birth defects.
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