Is it advisable for a woman in her late 40s to give birth?

Question

Is it advisable for a woman in her late 40s to give birth?
What are the consequences?

Answer 1

Women have done it... but think of it this way, when your child is in high school, the woman will be turning 70. That's very hard on a child, to lose their parents so early, plus, having low energy and being slow and elderly also have a great impact. I think it's better to examine why a woman may want a child, a new born baby, when they are turning 50. Is it a mid-life self-fulfilling prophecy? It always depends on the individuals, but I would venture to say it could do more harm then good to the child.

Answer 2

The risks are greater to both mother and baby. With every year past thirty the risk of the child having down's syndrome increases. Still women are having children into their fifties without problems, it's a toss up.

Answer 3

As medicine has advanced, so has the ability of older women to conceive.

awkward moments, such as when people have assumed the girls are their grandchildren

Researchers say older parents have some advantages. A study of 30,000 households showed that people who had children in their 40s were better off financially, spent more time with their children and had a closer connection to the children's friends than younger parents, said Brian Powell, a sociology professor at Indiana University.

"The older you were as a parent, the better off the child," Powell said.

But others question what happens when older parents suffer health problems or die. Even some family members have questioned the Cateses' decision.

being pregnant at a late age presented some challenges.
One day, Cates left the doctor's office in tears after she heard someone say she looked awfully old to be pregnant.

For the first three months of her pregnancy, she had to have daily injections to prevent a miscarriage, and she was put on bed rest the last few months. But Cates avoided many other complications associated with pregnancy among older women, and Margaret Jan Marie and Carli Sue Morgan were born at nearly full-term on Dec. 12, 1998.

"They were healthy, just perfect when they came out," she said. "We were so lucky there."

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/11/26/more_women_over_40_giving_birth_these_days/


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http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/9901/01/birth.troubles/index.html

Complications and interventions during birth are more prevalent among women 40 and older than previously believed, according to a new study touted as the most extensive of its kind.

Forty-seven percent of first-time mothers in their 40s had a Caesarean section -- twice as many as women in their 20s, according to the study of 24,032 California women, hospital records and birth certificate data show.

Previous studies have shown that 35 percent of California women in their 40s have a Caesarean section in their first pregnancy. Nationwide, that number is 22 percent.

"This is the first time accurate numbers can be attributed to some of the complications of labor and pregnancy" for the older women, said Dr. William Gilbert of the University of California, Davis, the lead author of the study to be published Friday in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology.

Among women in their 40s who gave birth in 1992 and 1993, the rates of pregnancy-related diabetes and high blood pressure also were substantially higher than in mothers in their 20s.

Older women shouldn't shun pregnancy
About 7 percent of older mothers suffered gestational diabetes, a serious complication of pregnancy, regardless of whether the baby was their first. That rate was about four times higher than that of younger mothers.

Older mothers also had a more prolonged and difficult labor, and their babies were more likely to be premature or be underweight, according to the study.

Still, researchers said older women shouldn't necessarily be dissuaded from having children.

"The take-home message is that while a lot of complications of labor and pregnancy are increased for women in their 40s, the vast majority of them do perfectly fine," Gilbert said.

Susheela Singh, research director at the Alan Guttmacher Institute, a New York think tank for reproductive issues, said the study should help doctors and older mothers anticipate some medical problems.

Also, the study is "more convincing than other studies" because it uses a larger and better sample of women, she said.

Answer 4

Absolutely not! The mother's body will try to abort, low birth weight, stress and strain on the mother, and the list goes on. One would have to be extremely healthy for a doctor to ok this.

Answer 5

It totally depends on the health and well-being of the woman!

Answer 6

people do it all the time, they use medical intervention, the consequences are how old she will be when her child graduates high school. add 18 years

Answer 7

Not not really. Consider the sperm of the older man. That may be a problem . Male sperm does age.

Answer 8

WEll they can but it might be too risky. They might have a miscarrige and the child might come with abnormalities.

Answer 9

http://www.pregnancytoday.com/reference/articles/pregnancyafter40.htm

http://mothersover40.homestead.com/home.html

I attached a couple of websites for you to look at. They are very informative and supportive. Good Luck!