Is conceiving a child later in life have a chance of a healthy pregnancy?

Hi Mum Jane! :) I am a new member of this website and had just post in your introduction thread. As I said I am a single woman in my late 40"s but in the planning stage of conceiving a child. From what I had read and learned from friends, late pregnancy is hard and had some disadvantages and not safe at all.

As a registered midwife, I know that you had all the knowledge about this and I do believe that you could help me in giving me the courage and the best advice for me not to worry and to be relax in my aspiration of having a child at this age in my life.

I am glad that you can give me your most concern in my initial inquiries to you.

Warm regards,

Amy

Hi Amy,

I will let Jane know that your question is awaiting her response. Sometimes she's not able to respond right away if she's at a birth, but she will respond.

I have answered your questions in the "irregular periods" thread. So be sure to take a look at that and watch the videos there.

You may also want to take a look at the "infertility tips" thread. Jane made some helpful suggestions there. Though you don't know if you have an infertility challenge because you haven't started trying to conceive, I'd encourage you to rule it out immediately. You're in your late 40's and your fiance smokes and drinks, so those things right there could very well pose a challenge for you. Have your doctor do some tests to see what your hormone levels are. You can do this before you get married.

Warm regards,

Kate

Hi Amy - Welcome to the forum. The most difficult problem you will face is actually being able to conceive a baby. At around age 45 you chance of conceiving a baby is around 5 percent and success declines as each year passes. The reason for this is that the number of eggs you have begin to decline as early as 15 years before menopause.

Not only do the number of eggs decline - their quality also declines so if you do conceive the chances of the egg having structural problems (problems with the chromosomes) increases. This in turn increases the risk of miscarriage and birth defects.

The chance of conceiving a baby with Downs Syndrome is:

Age	Risk of Downs Syndrome
40	1 in 84
41	1 in 69
42	1 in 52
43	1 in 37
44	1 in 38
45	1 in 32
46	1 in 31
47	1 in 25
48	1 in 62
49	1 in 86

Source: Morris JK, Mutton DE and Alberman E (2002) Revised estimates of maternal age specific live birth prevalence of Down syndrome. Journal of Medical Screening. 9, 2-6.

It is interesting that the risk seems to decrease slightly at ages 48 and 49.

I would highly recommend doing some preconception care to increase your chances of a successful pregnancy. Health issue such as diabetes and high blood pressure increase as we get older - so getting healthy helps decrease any potential problems.

Good luck.

Hello Mum Jane,

Thank you for the interesting informations and I learned something new. Yes I know that it is not easy at my age to conceive. But I know that I had live a healthy lifestyle and had a big fiath in the Lord that He will give me a blessing I am longing for which is to have a child.

Can you give me some pre conception care that may be my additional guide from what I already know.

Warm Regards;)

Hello Mam Kate!;)

I had watched the videos that you posted. It is very interesting and helpful to me.

By the way is it true that women had different hormonal levels in their bodies? And the kind of hormones they had has something to do with how they will conceive a child. I had read something about it and I need some additional information about this.

I will be glad to hear from you again.

Thank a lot!;)

Hi Amy,

Here's a page with some preconception care guidelines that Jane wrote. Be sure to read that page and start applying what you learn.

As for hormones... we all have hormones in our bodies that play different roles. In order for conception to occur, your reproductive hormones must be balanced. I would encourage you to have your doctor order a reproductive hormone panel for you (which are blood tests) so that you will know if your hormone levels indicate fertility (the ability to conceive). If one or more hormones are out of balance, your doctor will be able to share some options on what you need to do in order to have a child.

Some of the hormones that will be checked are TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone), FSH (Follicle Stimulating Hormone), LH (Luteinizing Hormone), Estrogen, Prolactin, Progesterone and sometimes Androgens.

The FSH test will be ordered on the 3rd day of your cycle (the 3rd day of bleeding) and Estradiol may be ordered on this day also. FSH will indicate how many and what quality of eggs you have left.

Most (if not all) doctors will suggest that a woman in her late 40's would need to do IVF and most likely with an egg donor. This might be suggested for you for two reasons.

1. You have irregular periods which could be an indication of peri-menopause.
2. The quality of eggs in a woman who is in her late 40's is usually very low which means that even if they put the egg and sperm together and then implanted the embryo in your body, there's an exceptionally high rate that a miscarriage would occur, often times before you were even able to get a positive pregnancy test.

So for a woman who is in good health, IVF with an egg donor option would probably be what most doctors would recommend.

There are things you can do to increase your chances of conceiving naturally, and that's where the preconception care comes into play, but truly, the fact that your eggs are nearly 50 years old is going to be your biggest challenge.

It sounds like your longing for a child is very, very strong. Have you considered adopting a newborn? My mom had a hard time conceiving me, so she and my dad decided to adopt. The day they called her to tell her they had a baby for her was the day she found out she was pregnant with me.

Experiencing motherhood is a precious gift from God and I truly hope you are able to experience it soon.

Warm regards,

Kate

Hello Mum Kate[:)]

Good day! Thank you for the pre conception care guidelines that you posted here. I really learned a lot from it. Actually I had a regular period at my age late 40's that si why I firmly believe that I can still conceive with the blessing from God. However it had not come across my mind to adopt a newborn because for me my own child is still the best for me to have.

By the why what is an IVF? Can you explain further why it is recommended for women who are in their late 40's to have this. May I ask also what is a hCG blood test for pregnant woman? Is it really accurate than a Urine test for pregnancy? Can you give me more gudielines about these pregnancy tests?

Well I am hoping to hear from you again.

Have a nice weekend![:)]

Amy

Hi Amy,

Please post back the dates of your last 3 cycles (the first day you started bleeding in the past 3 cycles). Also let me know if you start bleeding with red blood or if you have any brown blood before the red blood.

In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) is when a doctor takes an egg and puts it in a petri dish. Then the doctor adds a semen sample (which has sperm in it) in hopes that one of the sperm will fertilize the egg. Once fertilization occurs, the doctor will watch the embryo to see if there is any fragmentation. If the embryo is a high enough quality, they will then place it in the woman's body in hopes that it will implant in the uterus and the pregnancy will continue. Often times more than one embryo will be put back in the mother's body in hopes that at least one of them will result in a viable pregnancy. Unfortunately the embryos which were not of high enough quality are discarded, which means that a human life ends. For those who believe that life begins at conception (as I do), this then becomes a moral decision.

Doctors often recommend the IVF or ICSI procedure, using a donor egg (an egg from a younger woman) because the egg from the younger woman is typically higher quality and gives a better chance of conception and continued pregnancy. Below you will find two videos, explaining IVF and ICSI in more detail.

http://youtu.be/GeigYib39Rs

ICSI (Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection) is where a single sperm is injected directly into the egg (as compared to many sperm trying to enter the egg on their own). With ICSI, doctors are able to select the highest quality sperm to inject into the egg, and an embryo is formed during every procedure.

Here's a video that shows the ICSI procedure in more detail:

http://youtu.be/nPBZ7jURBXg

Hi Amy,

Regarding your question about an hCG blood test for pregnancy... There are some highly sensitive hCG urine pregnancy tests on the market which are nearly as sensitive as the blood tests performed by labs. You can always ask your doctor for a blood test if you think you're pregnant, but most women prefer to use a home pregnancy test before they call their doctor.

An early pregnancy test can give an accurate reading as early as a week after conception.

I'm going to post a link to some helpful videos on preconception care because the more you can do in that area now, the better chance you'll have of conceiving naturally when you're ready to try.

Warm regards,

Kate

Gabriela Rosa periodically offers some free videos which teach you some good information on boosting your fertility. It's called the 14 Days to Optimum Fertility Challenge.

This program is not available all the time, but you can sign up for her waiting list if it's currently not available. As of this posting it may still be available or they may have just finished the challenge. I'm not sure.

This is a great program for anyone who is thinking about getting pregnant.

Warm regards,

Kate

Hello Mum Kate!

Good day!:) I am very thankful that you always had something to share to my inquiries. Did you know that every thread you posted here is a new learning for me and it lessened my worriness of conceiving a child at this later age in life. With all the informations you had given since I started to joined the forum are all stored in my brain and it will be very useful as I go on to this journey of becoming a mother.

I had a new question which I am concerned also with regards to becoming pregnant. Since late last year I am drinking a milk that is suited for women planning for pregnancy so that I cam meet the folate requirements before conception. Is it just right that I am doing that preparation to pregnancy?

Your information again will be highly appreciated.

Thank you

Amy

Mum Kate!

May I add another question, My last period is December 15, 201 but I dont have my period up to now. Then last January had experienced minimal dizziness, but this February there is no more. What do you think?

Thanks Again

Amy

Hi Amy,

I will respond to your posts tomorrow. Just wanted to let you know I saw them and will be in touch.

Warm regards,

Kate

Hello Mum Kate!

Thank you and I will be waiting for your posts. Share more threads about early pregnancy symptoms and the development of fetus for the first trimester. So that I am aware if I am already on the way to it.

If possible I need some videos in order for me to have more ideas about being pregnant. Do you think that I should have an hCG blood test already to know if I am pregnant?

Will be glad to hear from you again..

Thanks a lot!

Amy

Hi Amy,

You may want to take a pregnancy test just to have some peace of mind one way or the other. If you typically don't have regular cycles, then it becomes really hard to know whether you're pregnant or not simply by symptoms.

Here's an article that shares some of the most common symptoms of pregnancy.
And here's a good thread in the forums where many moms have shared their early signs of pregnancy.

Early pregnancy signs are related to hormonal changes, and irregular periods are also related to hormones. I'd suggest that you take a home pregnancy test just to help you know whether you're pregnant or not. If you are, then you can proceed in that direction (scheduling your first visit with your midwife or doctor, etc.). If you're not pregnant, then you can really work to balance your hormones and determine what it is that is causing the irregular cycles. Once you know what's causing the irregular cycles, then you can pinpoint which areas you need to really focus on in order to regulate your cycles as quickly as possible... and of course, preconception care is super important to be doing right now, whether you are pregnant or note.

As for your question about drinking a formula milk in order to get the folate you need for preconception and pregnancy...

Many leading naturopathic physicians suggest avoiding milk products (especially cow milk products) while trying to conceive. I suggest that women who are trying to conceive avoid cow milk products simply because of the "bad" mucus it creates in the body (not talking about the good, fertile, cervical mucus which has nothing to do with eating dairy products). Having a little yoghurt or goat cheese or sheep cheese once a week would likely be okay. The yoghurt is cultured which means it's easier to digest and it offers some good pro-biotics for the body.

To optimize your fertility, you'll want to consider switching to a diet which is milk free, wheat free, and gluten free. This should also help with regulating your cycles... or, if you're pregnant, will boost your chances of having a full term pregnancy.

It is important for you to be getting enough folate each date, so you may want to consider taking a high quality prenatal supplement which has the recommended amount of folate for pregnancy. If you're even thinking about getting pregnant in the next 6 months, talk to your midwife or doctor and see if they will recommend or even prescribe a high quality prenatal vitamin/supplement.

And, of course, some of the best foods which are high in folate are green leafy vegetables, liver and asparagus.

Another critical nutrient that you want to be sure you're getting is enough Essential Fatty Acids. You can get these through a high quality supplement and/or by eating foods high in EFAs. Here are some articles that talk about what to eat during pregnancy.

Hope this helps, and feel free to post back any other questions.

Warm regards,

Kate