If you get pregnant after 35 years old, experts call this an “advanced maternal age” pregnancy. But it's still possible to get pregnant and deliver a healthy baby in your 40s. Childbirth at older ages has become more common too. Since the 1990s, birth rates in people aged 40-44 have gone up.
Pregnancy in your 40s is potentially more complicated. The healthier you are at the beginning, the less likely you are to experience complications. But even healthy women can have complications in pregnancy. Women in their 40s also have a higher chance of having multiples, such as twins or triplets.
The U.S. National Birth Defects Prevention Study found that women greater than age 40 are at increased risk of having babies with multiple types of heart defects, genital abnormalities, skull deformities, and esophageal malformations.
YES! While fertility does decline naturally as we age, starting around age 30, it is possible to become pregnant without fertility treatments after age 40.
Becoming a First-Time Mom in Your 40s
More women than ever are choosing to become first-time moms at 40 and beyond. We've been hearing for years that 40 is the new 30, and the increase in women having their first pregnancy over 40 shows that 40 isn't too late for women who want to become mothers.
Brigitte McQueen became a mother at 44.
Still, Ms. McQueen longed for a baby. In her 40s, she and her then husband opted for embryo donation at a fertility clinic in Sacramento. She had her first daughter at 44 and a second at 46.
Being an expectant mother of "advanced maternal age" does come with some risks. If you're pregnant at 45, you have a higher chance of: Developing gestational diabetes. Developing preeclampsia.
Down syndrome occurs in people of all races and economic levels. The risk increases with the mother's age (1 in 1250 for a 25 year old mother to 1 in 1000 at age 31, 1 in 400 at age 35, and about 1 in 100 at age 40). However, 80% of babies with Down syndrome are born to women under age 35 years.
Maternal age
A 25-year-old has a 1 in 1,200 chance of having a baby with Down syndrome. By 35 years of age, the risk increases to 1 in 350, and it becomes 1 in 100 by the age of 40. The chances of Down syndrome further increase to 1 in 30 by age 45, according to the National Down Syndrome Society.
Not optimal, but not selfish either
The point here is to look at some of the things which people say are selfish and realize that, while it may not be the “optimal conceiving time” there are plenty of reasons to have a child over forty and those reasons are not by definition selfish.
A woman's peak reproductive years are between the late teens and late 20s. By age 30, fertility (the ability to get pregnant) starts to decline. This decline happens faster once you reach your mid-30s. By 45, fertility has declined so much that getting pregnant naturally is unlikely.
Is it dangerous to be pregnant at age 47? "The scientific literature says women do quite well in pregnancy at this age," Grifo said. "But it is a little riskier. There's a higher risk of developing high blood pressure, diabetes, and needing a C-section, all of which are manageable."
Although most men are able to have children well into their 50s and beyond, it becomes gradually more difficult after the age of 40 .
The chance of having a child with Down syndrome increases over time. The risk is about 1 in 1,250 for a woman who conceives at age 25. It increases to about 1 in 100 for a woman who conceives at age 40. The risks may be higher.
Realistically, you can always undergo IVF unless you have experienced ovarian failure and/or menopause. However, pregnancy success rates using your own eggs drops considerably for women over 40.
Egg freezing typically works best for women in their 20s to 30s, and is not generally recommended for women older than 38 years. The biological clock cannot be reversed by oocyte cryopreservation in women older than 40.
An adequate intake of folic acid during pregnancy, believed to protect against neural tube defects (NTDs) in babies, may also help prevent Down's syndrome, researchers report in The Lancet this week.
As men age, their risk of fathering a child with Down syndrome may increase—the older the man, the more likely that the process of spermatogenesis, or sperm production will go awry, leading to sperm that contain errors like an extra chromosome.
There's no way to prevent Down syndrome. If you're at high risk of having a child with Down syndrome or you already have one child with Down syndrome, you may want to consult a genetic counselor before becoming pregnant. A genetic counselor can help you understand your chances of having a child with Down syndrome.
For most people, estrogen levels begin to fall gradually when they are in their 40s. A person will continue to ovulate and menstruate, but periods may become irregular or less frequent.
Chances of Getting Pregnant at 45 and Older
Copperman. Research has found that success rates are only slightly over 1%, and most clinics recommend using eggs donated by someone younger for those who want to conceive between ages 46 and 50.
To casual observers, it's the miracle of my story, and the unlikelihood of my family, that stands out: I got pregnant naturally at 46 after a lifetime of infertility. With that unexpected pregnancy came an unexpected family. And it's true—being pregnant at 46 and becoming a mom is a miracle.