What are the risks of being pregnant at forty five?

Answer 1

• If you do conceive, you are more likely to need extra care during your pregnancy.

• If you do develop health problems, your doctor will classify your pregnancy as high risk.
• You're twice as likely as a younger woman to experience gestational Diabetes, pre-eclampsia, high blood pressure, placenta praevia (low-lying placenta), & placental abruption-where the placenta comes away from the uterus (womb) wall.
• The birth experience for women over 40 may be harder too; you're more likely to have a caesarean section, your baby presenting in an awkward position at birth, your baby being born with a low birth weight, & your baby being born too soon.
• About one in 200 babies born to women aged 40 or over have Down's syndrome.
• Half of all pregnant women aged 42 experience miscarriage; this disheartening figure rises to three quarters for women aged 45 years or more.

It may seem like there's a long list of all the things that can worry you as a 40-plus mom-to-be, but keep in mind that there are plenty of women in their 40s who have trouble-free pregnancies & perfectly healthy babies.