Prenatal Care When You Are Over 40
Women over 40 have the ability to get pregnant and carry a healthy baby to full term. According to Fortune, women 40 – 44 accounted for 10.6 out of every 1,000 births in 2014. Women over 50 accounted for 743 births in the same year. A woman's fertility begins to rapidly decline after age 35, and this generally means that more prenatal care is necessary to ensure a healthy pregnancy throughout the term. Women older than 35 are considered to be of advanced maternal age, simply because of the decrease in fertility and the inherent risks that come with giving birth after 35. Understanding the risks makes it possible to respect why you will need more prenatal care than an average 25 year old, even if you are healthy.
Women Over 40 Have Healthy Pregnancies
While you may read all kinds of dire warnings for pregnancy after 40, there's no reason you can't have a healthy pregnancy during this stage in your life. Talk with your doctor about your concerns, and ask any questions you may have. A woman in her 20s is going to see her doctor on a regular basis, and your number of appointments may be slightly higher. Your doctor will want to check on your blood pressure more frequently, check for gestational diabetes, and make sure your pregnancy is going smoothly. Women of any age can have a complicated pregnancy, and your age increases your chances just a bit more.
Take Care of You and the Baby
You should be taking good care of your health, no matter how old you are during pregnancy. If your doctor prescribes prenatal vitamins, take them. Make sure that you get some light exercise every day, and eat as healthy as you can. While you may have cravings for ice cream or salty, fatty food, it's more useful to eat fruits, vegetables, and healthy grains to build up your strength and provide your baby with nourishment. If gestational diabetes becomes a concern, you'll have to talk with your doctor about meeting with a nutritionist to address your needs while you are pregnant.
Women over 40 have healthy pregnancies all the time. You can have testing done on your unborn fetus to check for certain chromosomal abnormalities, or you can choose not to. If you have any concerns, a long talk with your doctor is in order. You can have a great pregnancy when you take care of your body and follow through with all prenatal care. To learn more, contact an obstetrician at a medical facility like Vita Center For Women LLC.
