辛迪是一个容光焕发的新妈妈. On January 15, she gave birth to her first child at the 大发娱乐. 在很多方面, Cindy is no different than the average mother; she's excited and nervous about what the future holds for her tiny arrival. Cindy is also unlike most new mothers in one significant way. 她51岁.
Cindy is proof that women her age are often capable — with help from donor eggs and 在体外 fertilization — of carrying and giving birth to a child.
“有人来到我的办公室说, 40岁时, am I crazy from a medical standpoint to even think about getting pregnant?’”艾琳·克拉克说, MD, a maternal fetal medicine physician at University of Utah Health who treated Cindy during her 怀孕. "The conversation that we have is 'While your risks are going to be a little bit higher than somebody who is younger, your most likely outcome is that you're going to have a healthy 怀孕. So I try to reassure them that if the timing's right for them, 他们想要一个家庭, it's not an unreasonable journey to embark upon."
At 35, 女性达到“高龄生育年龄”," but this doesn't mean there's a line in the sand with low risks for 怀孕 complications on one side and a sudden spike in risk when a woman crosses the line. Instead, risks increase gradually until menopause. Some women are able to conceive naturally in their 40s while others need infertility treatments or donor eggs to become pregnant. At age 20, the risk of miscarriage is about 10 percent; the risk at age 40 is about 50 percent. 同样的, the probability of having a baby with Down syndrome at age 20 is about one in 1,400岁，40岁, 几率是80分之一, 克拉克说.
It's important to note that these statistics become a nonfactor when, 就像辛迪的情况一样, an older woman uses donor eggs from a younger woman. At 50, it's nearly impossible for women who want children to go the natural route. Utilizing donor eggs allows them to carry a child since it's the older eggs themselves that are often the cause of complications, 克拉克说.
仍然, 即使有捐赠的卵子, older women have increased risks of preeclampsia, 早产, 妊娠期糖尿病和剖腹产, 克拉克说, but it's really the fact that they can't conceive on their own that is the biggest issue.
One reason risks of complications are higher for older pregnant women is that they are more likely to have chronic diseases such as hypothyroidism, 慢性高血压和糖尿病.
“大发娱乐说, ‘看, 如果你有这些慢性疾病, you need to make sure they're as controlled as possible before you get pregnant,克拉克说. “最后讨论的是平衡问题. How healthy can we get you without delaying your 怀孕 an inordinate amount of time?"
When it comes to advice for staying healthy while pregnant, the guidance isn't much different whether a woman is 22 or 47.
"We always tell people to try to achieve an optimal weight before 怀孕 and to eat a generally healthy diet and to try to get at least 30 minutes of exercise a day,克拉克说. "That counseling is the same across the board."
Open communication with a health care provider is key in all pregnancies and even more so when the patient isn't far from menopause. A doctor can assess a woman's unique medical circumstances and determine if she's healthy enough for 怀孕. It's also vital for patients and their doctors to candidly discuss the personal, financial and social issues of having a child later in life.
"I try to get a sense from them that they've really thought about these issues and that they understand they're going to be having children who are graduating high school potentially when they're 70 years old,克拉克说. "If I get a sense that they have carefully thought about those issues, that's enough for me."
在辛迪的例子中, 她的医生决定, 测试后, that she was medically healthy enough for 怀孕. Regarding the social factors, Cindy and her husband decided that the timing was right. It helped too that she's surrounded by an amazing support system.
"I have a friend who's a nurse and she was very insistent that I stay healthy," Cindy said. "So, 即使我不喜欢, she would be like 'Get up and get out of bed and let's go walking.' I'm sure I wouldn't be doing as well if she hadn't kept me active like that."
The 怀孕 wasn't all smooth sailing for Cindy. Her water broke early, and her baby was delivered six weeks preterm by Caesarean section. Cindy had to spend the final two and a half weeks leading up to the birth in the hospital, and 克拉克说 the infant will likely need to spend about six weeks in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit. But 克拉克说 the baby will likely be healthy when it's time to leave.
Cindy said she's thought about how she'll be in her late 60s when her child graduates high school, but she has friends who are grandparents who act as the primary caregivers for their grandchildren. There are all kinds of different ways to do things in this world, Cindy said.
Said Clark, "I tell my patients that parenthood is always a leap of faith. Becoming pregnant when you are older is just a little bigger leap."