Pregnancy concerns for older moms?

[ncat]

I will be 40 when DC#3 is born - assuming all goes well this time.

What should I be worried about with regards to the baby's health and my own health due to my age? I expect that prenatal testing will be more important this time, but I'm apprehensive about amniocentesis. Are there any issues with using a midwife practice for prenatal care (as I did with DS)?

I am very excited about #3, but I feel too old to be doing this again!

[mskitty]

Are there any issues with using a midwife practice for prenatal care (as I did with DS)?


The only significant difference in pregnancy care from my midwife was the anatomy scan. My midwife did it in the office at 22 weeks with my first baby. For my second, she requested it be done at 18 weeks in the perinatalist's office due to my age. We chose to decline all the other testing in both pregnancies.

mskitty

[Mopey]

My sis just had her amnio this past week at 16 weeks. She will apparently have an extra growth scan or two but otherwise it has seemed like the same tests (nuchal, etc) I had. She said the amnio wasn't bad at all. Everything is clear and she is officially pregnant with her first after lots of efforts :)

Good luck to you!!

ETA: she is 37.

[Roleysmom]

Congratulations! I used a nurse midwife practice at 42 for my second pregnancy and almost did a homebirth as well and didn't think twice about my age as a reason not to use that type of care. My university-affiiated medical center connected midwife practice is definitely conservative and they never raised the issue even in passing. I did additional testing because of my poor risk number after the nuchal fold/blood test screening (I forget what that's called - first trimester screening?) But I didn't get the sense that they would have suggested other testing based on my age alone.

At the first visit my midwife did suggest that because of additional risks (miscarriage), we not tell anyone until 16 weeks (and after the all clear with the first screening.)

My DD did have IUGR and was small and delivered early (the IUGR was suggested by the blood test that's a part of the nuchal fold screening). I think there is some information suggesting maternal age is one risk factor for IUGR. Maybe you want to raise that with your practice?

Good luck!

[hopeful_mama]

I am 39 and there have been no overt concerns due to my age; if they are doing anything different it's not apparent to me. Certainly no one suggested an amnio with no other concerns than age, I would be shocked if a dr did that. I did check in with my former MFM once but my dr only wanted that due to some meds requests, not due to my age, and the MFM had no concerns due to age, meds, anything.

New this year are some new blood tests, Harmony and MaterniT21 (and a 3rd that's less common), that test your blood to determine the likelihood of three trisomies (including Downs). From memory they are 99% accurate (and if I'm off it's by very little), and of course since it's just a simple blood test there's no risk to baby. From memory they can be done as early as 10-12 weeks. My drs were also fine with me doing the nuchal translucency scan just to be extra thorough (and I believe that one can discover neural tube defects, which the new blood tests don't check for).

My obs office has midwives on staff and said I could just see them if I wanted; personally I am not comfortable with that but the obs had no concern about seeing midwives due to my age.

Congratulations!

[KLD313]

I just had my last baby at 38. I used midwives. I did see a perinantologist but not for age related issues. I declined all testing except ultrasounds. They didn't push anything on me that I didn't want to do. The pregnancy was hard on my body and I ended uo with GD but the baby was/is fine.

Congratulations!

[JBaxter]

I was 41 when I had Jack. I might be the odd ball but he was my easiest pregnancy. I was no more tired then with the other boys. LESS sick < ok was not sick at all> My BP was better than with DS3 I gained 33lbs little swelling.
We refused all invasive tests I had the Nucal fold u/s w/ bloodwork but the risk of the CVS or Amnio was to great for us. We did induce 7 days post date but he was a 10.5 baby.

Now we did do the biophysical profiles after 32 weeks but I was ok w/ ultrasounds. Enjoy

[123LuckyMom]

I had my first at 37 and my second at 41, and for both I was considered of advanced maternal age. I never had an amnio. I did the nuchal fold test. My second birth was a home birth with a midwife. I had very little testing the second time around. I certainly would look for a midwifery practice that doesn't make a big deal about your age. Remember, if you were Amish, you'd be on your 12th baby and ready to have more up until menopause.

[SnuggleBuggles]

I went to orientation at the CNM run birth center here (and tge place ds2 was born). While on the tour, someone asked about AMA and they accepted older moms. They had extremely diligent, thorough prenatal care for all so I don't know how things varied, if they did. Congrats!!

[ezcc]

I was 39 with my 3rd, and like the previous posters didn't do anything differently- no amnio, just ultrasounds. I did do the blood test associated with the nuchal fold, which I don't think was around when I had my others but that's fairly standard for all nowadays I think. No problems, fairly easy pregnancy- I had a rough delivery but that was due to the baby's size and position not my age. I used a midwife. My good friend had her 3rd baby last year at 42, and also said it was her easiest pregnancy. Congratulations!

[Beth24]

Congratulations. I had my 4th at age 45. Other than getting GD (which is more common in older moms) I had a very easy pregnancy. I opted for a nuchal fold test to assess my risks and then an amino. I had more ultrasounds than normal to make sure the baby was not getting too big because of my GD and I had more frequent stress tests in the last few weeks. I went into labor ay 39 weeks and had a medication free birth, my first one! DS3 was 8 pounds and healthy.

Good luck with your pregnancy!

[Hemlock]

Had my third baby 6 months ago at age 42. I declined any additional testing and had a relatively smooth pregnancy - had a small sub chorionic bleed at 10 weeks. My son was born 10 days before my due date weighing in at a healthy but small 6 pounds (my first son who was born when I was 30 was only 5 lbs).

I would like to have one more baby in the next year or so. :)