Childbirth at 40 years and whether to give birth to a second child at this age?

Twenty years ago, women were considered homogeneous after 28 years of age. Now, when representatives of the fair sex are trying to be in time, they often postpone motherhood. First, education, career, and material resources are of paramount importance. And more and more often, the time for the first birth is only by the age of 30-35.

Closer to forty, when the firstborn grows up (or has already grown up completely), many women wonder if they should become a mother again. They are increasingly looking back at women with strollers in the street and catch themselves thinking that they would gladly visit a children's store.

But many are frightened by age, and simply a huge assortment of “scary” stories about age-related mothers and their children, which the Internet is crammed with. Let's try to understand this issue in more detail.

To begin with, getting pregnant after 40 years is quite difficult for a woman. Fertility levels are rapidly declining, and the ovaries produce less and less “healthy” ovaries that are ready for fertilization. The number of anovulatory cycles increases, i.e. cycles in which ovulation does not occur.

However, if the pregnancy has occurred, the woman over 40 should know that the upcoming 9 months will differ significantly from the first pregnancy.

Despite the fact that society has become more favorable to look at the "age" mommies, in traditional medicine there is a certain bias. And a woman will have to face her from the first days of pregnancy. Doctors will more closely monitor the development of the child and the state of the expectant mother, you will have to attend a consultation more often than 20-year-old girls do, many pregnant women at this age spend almost the entire time in the hospital for maintenance.

Obstetricians and gynecologists can be understood: by the age of 40, a woman has already accumulated a sufficient burden of chronic diseases, and the process of carrying a child associated with violent hormonal and physiological changes can undermine its health and threaten the condition of the baby.

The future mother, who is already over 40, will have screening tests. There will be three of them. At the period of 11-13 weeks of pregnancy, you will need to donate blood and undergo an ultrasound diagnosis of the fetus. Based on a combination of factors, the risks of having a child with genetic pathologies will be calculated. During the screening, the probability of the birth of a baby with Down's syndrome, Edwards, Cornelia de Lange, Patau, neural tube development defects is established.

As you know, the older the mother, the greater the likelihood of the birth of the crumbs with Down syndrome. For example, a 25-year-old woman has this risk of 1: 2000. In 30 years - 1: 1000, in 40 years already - 1: 150, and by 45 years old 1:30, that is, out of 30 births alone will end with the birth of a sick baby. The remaining genetic diseases, the risk of which reveals screening studies, are quite rare by themselves.

A second screening for a woman will be given between 20 and 24 weeks. of pregnancy. It will also include a blood test and an ultrasound scan. The third screening for pregnant women is carried out for a period of 30-34 weeks.

Pregnant women after 40, as a rule, without exception, are sent to consult a geneticist. And if the results of the screening cause him fear, the woman may be asked to undergo an examination by invasive methods. They are more informative, for example, amniocentesis (amniotic fluid sampling for genetic analysis) gives a result with an accuracy of 99%.

The so-called late pregnancy will have its advantages and disadvantages. Let's take a closer look at them.

• Forty-year-old parents tend to approach their child's planning more consciously. They already know what parenting is, they have sufficient material and spiritual base, as well as rich life experience in order to grow a new person.
• It is believed that a woman's body over 40 rejuvenates after childbirth. You can relate to this as you please, but doctors do not deny this. The hormonal “shake-up” that the expectant mother will receive within 9 months really has a beneficial effect on the condition of the skin, hair, mobilizes the internal organs, and the woman “blooms”. She has a reduced risk of stroke, later comes menopause, and it passes less painfully.
• Forty-year-old mothers are more patient, calm, balanced, and sensitive to their children. They are easier to experience a psychological postpartum crisis.

• Carrying a baby in 40 years is much more difficult than in 25. The load on all the organs is so great that against the background of pregnancy, a woman can not only aggravate the existing diseases, but also signify new ones.
• Lactating mothers often have problems with lactation. Milk is not enough or not at all.
• Quite often, pregnancy at the age of 40 ends with a cesarean section. Doctors do not want to risk the health of the baby and mother during natural childbirth.
• With pregnancy in the age of 40, the risk of miscarriage significantly increases. Compared to baseline values, it increases by about 50%. And the risk of premature birth increases by 40%.

• In pregnancy after 40 years at times increases the probability of having twins. Moreover, the twins are likely to be fraternal. It's true. But the opinion that the children of 40-year-old mothers are more capable, talented and almost brilliant - a common myth. The age of the woman in labor does not in any way affect the intellectual abilities of the baby.
• Women who gave birth after 40 years live longer. Sociologists around the world claim that their research confirms this. But most likely, it is not childbirth. Just ladies who risked getting pregnant and producing a baby in adulthood, initially have better health, which can not affect their lifespan.
• Children shy of age parents. Pure water is fiction. This parents are shy of themselves. And children love mom and dad as they are. Moreover, they have nothing to be ashamed of - parents at a mature age, as a rule, are well provided for financially, have a stable job, the housing issue is not acute for them.

If a woman decided to get pregnant and have a second child after 40 years, it will be difficult for her without psychological support. The fact is that late pregnancy is associated with a large number of fears. But age is not a sentence, and in fact only the future attitude of the future mother really matters.

How to cope with your concerns?

• Focus on your feelings. Trust yourself. If you feel well, do not make too much fuss, and unless absolutely necessary, do not run around the doctors' offices. Enjoy pregnancy, and then the fears themselves will burst like soap bubbles.
• Take advantage of time. Maternity leave is a good time for self-improvement. Do not dwell on your fears, listen to your favorite music, finally read all those books that you put off until later, watch movies. Make it a rule to learn something new every day. This is useful for mom and baby.
• Trust. Trust everyone who is with you - your husband, your doctor. They understand that pregnancy is a serious test for you, and they are ready to help. Open in response.
• Feel free to tell your household about your experiences and feelings. Share with your spouse, with the older child, if his age allows you to understand. Let all members of your family expect the baby to be born with you. Feeling that you are one team will help move mountains and reduce anxiety levels.

• Do not neglect the tips to walk more often, in the evenings, take a warm shower, learn to relax, master breathing exercises.
• Distance from anyone who is trying to sow in you even a grain of doubt or criticizes your decision to become a mother. To give birth or not to 40 years old, it's up to you. No one has the right to impose your opinion on you. Do not let anyone disturb your inner state.
• Get like-minded people. There are communities in the Internet where the same mature moms will understand, support and not condemn.

The joy and tenderness that you will experience as you watch your baby grow and develop will more than compensate for all the difficulties attributed to the late pregnancy period.

In the following video, a gynecologist-endocrinologist will give advice on how to facilitate the course of pregnancy for women who wish to give birth at the age of 40.

About what mom will have to face at the age of 40, look in the video of a clinical psychologist Veronika Stepanova.