# Is 40 that bad?



## Bebica

I am reading here(and other places) so many bad things about pregnancy in 40's and yet so many woman give birth to normal babies at that age.What would you say(or know for the fact) that is % for normal pregnancy,meaning full term,normal baby,no problems during pregnancy...how many of let's say 100 40+ old women has totally normal pregnancy and baby?What do you think?
They made it like it's very small # according to all problematic posts everywhere I go...Aren't you scared? Or shouldn't we be on forums and read bad stuff?!


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## creatingpeace

I feel healthy, I feel positive, Doc's say all looks good, so I am going to remain with the facts which apply to me as an indivdual!


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## Chocciebutton

well I am 39 and have health issues and so far I am ok! It also only took me 3 months to conceive ....considering the blood tests that I had 8 months before were showing I was infertile....I didnt do too bad! I have a 15 year old and a 6 year old and this is the last, my midwife told me that younger mums have more energy to run around after the baby but older mums cope better mentally....lol


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## Andypanda6570

I think for the most part over 40 is safe and most have healthy babies, but you can't ignore the statistics either , we are at a higher risk for a lot but that does not mean it will happen, we all are different. Some have had late losses like me and have went on to have healthy babies some have not, but also some have problems at 25 :wacko: I mean it's just numbers. I know a woman who lost 2 and she is as healthy as a horse she then went on to have 2 healthy girls at 42 and 43 so who knows, I would not worry to much, all you can do is have the testing done and go from there and some choose not to do any testing and I respect that also. But there are women in they're early 20's that loose babies , it's just we being 40 are at a higher risk according to who ,I don't know :hugs:


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## ambreen359

well i am 40 and so far have had a perfectly normal pregnancy
and if we think about it not that long ago women were having there last baby in there 40s why would the risk be different now 
i think its an individual health issue rather than becoming an age issue
i dont feel 40 dont actually feel any different than i did when pregnant at 20 only more aware of my body which can only be a good thing
the thing is as we get older and we desperatly want a child we will do everything we need to do to make it happen eat right cut down on certain things to give us and baby the best chance and surely thats a win win situation


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## maybethisit

My midwife reckons that health and diet has improved so much for our generation that being pregnant at 40 is a different matter from a generation ago (she has about a million years of experience). She said she feels that many 40-year-olds these days are more like people in their early to mid 30s were, twenty years ago, in terms of their biological age. 

Statistically we are higher risk for some things but so are teenaged mums, and with good ante-natal and health care, healthy lifestyle and education on these things I think a lot of it can be managed. I personally am not going to go overdue (I don't think) due to the strong evidence of increased risk for 40 somethings in that, but otherwise I seem to be having a really healthy, uncomplicated pregnancy so far! And with my first when I was 22 I had mild pre-eclampsia, so who knows! :shrug: 

But I've been discharged from consultant care (due to advanced maternal age, lol), baby is growing well, I feel a bit crap with aches and pains and tiredness but so does pretty much everyone else in third tri from what I can see, so so far, so good, basically! Go us :flower:


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## bobblebot

40 is wonderful anddon't let anyone tell you any different, i had 4 children between age 22-26, pregnancies were fine, i felt huge but all normal births. Then at 35 after divorce and remarriage i had another son, the pregnancy again was great and another normal birth despite being classed as high risk as i have antibodies that can harm baby but had this before. i did develop hypertenion towards end but all good.

I'm now 40 and 31 weeks pregnant, became pregnant first try lol! and the pregnancy has been a breeze, i did have morning sickness but dissapeared at 12 weeks, blood pressure is fine and as normal i'm due to be induced at38 weeks because of antibodies but have a normal vaginal birth again.

I honestly feelno different in thi pregnancy than any other, in fact hand on heart this has been the easiest! and best of all at 40 i am so relaxed, done mot things in life i've wanted to and at a point where i can fully enjoy this baby............40 in my opinion is the best age!


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## Jellybean0k

I'm 41, all's well with the pregnancy. The baby's thriving and doing everything he/she should be, it's just me that's not doing too great. Pregancy is not going well as far as my health is concerned, but, as the baby is well, I'm not to concerned, just a lot in pain


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## reneny1

Well, I'm 41 almost and having my 3rd child but my other 2 are grown ups now. 

I am scared to death. You read all the statistics on the internet and on other forums and it is so scary! I had a mc in Jan 2010. I have smoked up until NOW. I am obese. I had previously been told I had uterine fibroids. All of these are risk factors!

But, hey... I tested Positive and all I can do is go with it now... what will come will come... stressing over it is doing me no good! ;)


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## kellyb

Statistics can be pretty weird, and I don't always want to give them too much weight, as far as my worrying is concerned. For instance, as far as Downs Syndrome, I read that at 25, the chances are 1 in 1250; then at 40, the chances are 1 in 100. So, ok, the older mom is 12.5 times more likely to have a Downs Syndrome baby, BUT, and it's a big BUT, the chances either way are 1% or less. That's a really small chance of something happening. And here's the crazy thing, I have a friend who just had a baby at age 26, and guess what, her baby had Downs. 

It's still easy to worry about this stuff at our "advanced maternal age," and yes, I'm rolling my eyes as I type that, but I always have to remember to put the stats into perspective, and look at the big picture! Not sure about stats on other stuff, but I'm guessing some of the numbers are similar???


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## Andypanda6570

It's not just the worry of downs it is also chromosomal abnormalities :nope: and a lot higher risk of miscarriage and stillborn :nope: But it happens to much younger women also. I will be 41 in June and I lost my Ava at 40 but I want to try again I don't want to give up yet and I want another one.. They don't know for sure why Ava died but they think it was chromosomal , but that doesn't mean this time I can't have a heathy pregnancy :cloud9: There are so many that loose their babies at different stages and then go on to have healthy beautiful babies, well that will be me , I have faith in God and myself :hugs::hugs::hugs:


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## Afrikana

Renenyl, come on 41 isnt old! all you need to do now is just try and have a more healthy life style. Eat a good diet, please stop smoking if you can, Eat more healthy food, fruits and vegetables...and since you say you are a big girlie, when you eat healthy, you will discover that you will be able to acheive a healthy weight which willl be good not only for the baby but also for you.

Good luck, all will be fine babesxx


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## Pixie M

As other people have mentioned, any woman can have problems with their pregnancy regardless of their age. 
I just get on with things as best I can and don't worry myself with the "what if's?" I know statistics help lots of people but they worry me! Instead, I think of it as it's either me or it's not me. There's a 50-50 chance of my baby being perfectly normal. Obviously I hope it is and do everything I can to make sure it is, but some things are beyond our control. This is a very simplistic view I know, but it reassures me and stops me fretting.


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## matureone

All you ladies are doing great! 40 is the new 30 so enjoy your new additions. im 41 and 17 weeks. my 2 children are 18 and 16, their happy. and my hubby to be is going to be dad for the first time. hes going to be great!!! plus hes 26 and can do all the running around lol


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## Butterfly67

I have 8 friends who have had healthy babies in their 40's (and some had 2!) - the only issue with one was a cleft lip but that is not really a major problem (well it obviously is but what I mean is she is a lovely normal little girl so I don't see it as one). Obviously I don't really know if many of them had m/cs before that or how long some of them were trying but bearing in mind I don't have a massive circle of friends that looks pretty good to me


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## reneny1

Matureone, you sound like me! Except my OH isn't 26, he's 42. lol! But he is in better shape than me, so he can still do all the running around! ;)

Thanks so much for the motivating words, Afrikana. I have previously lost 70 pounds so I am definitely healthier than I used to be but I am still considered obese. :( I have stopped smoking. Cold turkey as soon as I saw the first positive test! But it's very HARD! I just wish I had gotten a complete physical done BEFORE getting preggers like I had planned! I am a planner and I hate going into things without preplanning! Probably a control issue, huh? lol!


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## morri

The only thing that I have read in a study is that once a woman is older than 35 years , the body can't neutralise faulty sperm as good. a man sperms deteriorate with age and if a woman is just as old as the man (over 40) than the man contributes half to chromosome disorders . For some reasons they havent found out yet this doesnt happen when the woman is in her twenties to max mid thirties. They suspect that this is because the younger woman may just be able to detect faulty sperm better .


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## tinaanddan

I am at 6 weeks and going in for our first Ultra Sound tomorrow. I'm a little confused because the doctor told me due to my age I would have to have a Csection. Anyone ever heard of this??


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## ciarhwyfar

tinaanddan said:


> I am at 6 weeks and going in for our first Ultra Sound tomorrow. I'm a little confused because the doctor told me due to my age I would have to have a Csection. Anyone ever heard of this??

No and I wouldn't let them get away with trying that. If you are healthy and there is no immediate danger, there should be no reason why you can't have a regular birth, if you want one. If the doctor wants to just run your pregnancy, I say get a new doctor.


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## mafiamom

honestly, i think as more and more women have children later in life the stats will go down. even at our "tender age" D) the odds are STILL on our side that we will have a perfectly healthy child.

i have been in quite a few birth forums, and not that this is a great sample, but the children born with chromosomal abnormalities were all born to women WAY younger then us. so .... go figure ~shrug~


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## mafiamom

ciarhwyfar said:


> tinaanddan said:
> 
> 
> I am at 6 weeks and going in for our first Ultra Sound tomorrow. I'm a little confused because the doctor told me due to my age I would have to have a Csection. Anyone ever heard of this??
> 
> that is absolute bull. find a new doc and fast cause that is just ridiculous! my mother delivered me BREECH, totally natural at 40 years old :)Click to expand...


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## Jellybean0k

I'm 41, and all is well with the baby, unfortunately, I have health issues myself, and will be getting sterilised so it doesn't happen again !!!

Not that I'm sorry I'm pregnant in the first place, we tried for long enough, just wasnt expecting it to happen at this age


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## seoj

Stats are only stats hun... and each situation can be SO different. We were told we only had about 5% chance at conception (with Fertility help!) and that never made sense to me personally... and heck, I got prego the 2nd IUI!!!! So stats only mean so much on a larger scale... 

I'm also 37 (so above that 35 mark!!! Oh no!!! lol)-- and all has progressed just fine with me and baby... actually, better than some 20-something woman I know! They got way more sickness and were more miserable than me at this stage... and honestly, I figured I'd have a really hard time... but so far so good :) I know I have a while left, lol, but I'm just SO happy to even be prego! I can't imagine I'd feel bad regardless :) 

You'll be just fine hun. Go with what your doctor tells you and enjoy every moment!!! 

Best of luck! :)


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## Eviesmum

Hi
I have just had my baby girl (7 weeks ago) and I just turned 47. I had a perfect pregnancy and the birth went well (albeit that I did need a little help i.e Ventouse but nothing went wrong). 
You do hear so many scare stories.. I know I had them told to me on several occasions but my little girl's perfect in every way. 
I do believe that we are looking after ourselves a lot better nowadays so that helps plus I have read that years ago it was perfectly normal for women in their 40's and 50's to have children and they didn't have the health care we do now.
I think it's wonderful and even though my new addition was a total surprise she's the best thing that has happened to me since my other two children arrived (25 and 23 years ago lol).
Good luck and stay positive.


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## Butterfly67

Eviesmum said:


> Hi
> I have just had my baby girl (7 weeks ago) and I just turned 47. I had a perfect pregnancy and the birth went well (albeit that I did need a little help i.e Ventouse but nothing went wrong).
> You do hear so many scare stories.. I know I had them told to me on several occasions but my little girl's perfect in every way.
> I do believe that we are looking after ourselves a lot better nowadays so that helps plus I have read that years ago it was perfectly normal for women in their 40's and 50's to have children and they didn't have the health care we do now.
> I think it's wonderful and even though my new addition was a total surprise she's the best thing that has happened to me since my other two children arrived (25 and 23 years ago lol).
> Good luck and stay positive.

Wow, that is brilliant, congrats to you!!


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## Eviesmum

Hi Butterfly67
Thank you so much for your congrats.... it is brilliant and what's even nicer is that ( so far) I haven't had any negative comments from anyone about being 'older'.. i think that maybe people are accepting it far more again now.. 
xxx


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## Seity

I'm sure I won't even consider a 2nd baby until I'm at least 40. I don't think 40 is very old at all.


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## surprisemummy

hi i just wanted to share the experiences of two of my mums friends. one of her work friends had her first child at 29 and then at 44 went on to have another child with her new husband and she says appart from not having the same energy for it , there was no major difference between the pregnancys, all healthy, no risks etc. 

then there is her other friend who had her first baby at 21 and accidently fell pregnant at 40 and she misscarried at 18 weeks and the only explanation she was given was that there was a higher risk in miscarriage in women over 35 ,they couldnt find a cause from the post mortem, this woman smoked was stressed etc and to be honest is quite an old 40.

anyway what im getting at here is you just cant compare yourself to anyone else or anyone elses circumstances or what you read online(stats etc). im 21 and have a healthy baby boy and i have a friend whos 26 whos son has downs. these things happen to people of all ages, not just over 35s. i wish every1 a healthy pregnancy :flower:

xx


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