Preparing for Pregnancy Later in Life
Many women are waiting until they are in their mid-30s before getting pregnant, and today’s medical advances give them a greater opportunity to deliver a healthy baby later in life.
Women who are 35 or older are considered at a higher risk for certain complications. Understanding those challenges is an important step to a successful pregnancy.
According to Philip Bayliss, MD, Medical Director of Maternal-Fetal Medicine Specialists, those challenges include:
- A longer time to become pregnant
- A need to use fertility treatment, increasing the possibility of a multiple pregnancy
- Increased incidence of hypertension
- Higher risk for miscarriage
- Greater risk for birth defects, especially in the fetal heart
- Higher risk of chromosome abnormalities
- Greater risk for developing gestational diabetes, and
- A Caesarian-section delivery is more likely
Women who will be 35 or older at the time of delivery are encouraged to consult with a maternal-fetal medicine specialist for prenatal genetic testing and counseling. Prenatal testing is used to diagnose a genetic disease or condition in the developing fetus, and can help determine the probability of chromosomal disorders such as Down syndrome.
The highly trained physicians and perinatologists at Maternal-Fetal Medicine Specialists at Lancaster General Women & Babies Hospital provide screenings, monitoring, education and care to help a mother-to-be understand her situation and prepare for the safest delivery possible.
For more information, consult your family doctor or obstetrician, or call 544-3514.