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Are You Having a Geriatric Pregnancy?
What is a geriatric pregnancy? When I was pregnant with my daughter, my OB/GYN absolutely floored me when he classified my pregnancy as ‘geriatric’. I was not expecting to hear that word when I was in my prime and expecting my third child. I’ll be honest, it scared me a little at first as I didn’t really know what that meant. Was my pregnancy now considered high risk? Was I officially old at the age of thirty-five? I thought I had a few good years still in me before I had to get a walker and dye my hair purple. My pregnancy was uncomplicated and my daughter was born healthy. The only difference I noticed about being a little older was that I was way more exhausted than my pregnancies in my twenties. Plus I definitely felt more emotionally ready this time around.
A geriatric pregnancy is a pregnancy that occurs when a woman is 35 or older. Doctors also use the term advanced maternal age. With more woman choosing to wait to start a family the rates of women having babies over the age of thirty-five has doubled. Megan Markle and Amy Schumer are two pregnant celebrities of advanced maternal age.
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What Are The Risks?
There is a higher risk of certain complications during pregnancy when a woman is thirty-five or older because women are born with their eggs and they deteriorate over time.
The Risks of Geriatric Pregnancy:
- premature birth
- low birth weight
- stillbirth
- chromosomal defects
- labor complications
- cesarean section
- high blood pressure in the mother, which can lead to preeclampsia gestational diabetes
Does all this mean that you should be afraid to have a baby after you’re thirty-four? Not even slightly. It just means that these risks are slightly higher than before. As long as you take care of yourself, eat a healthy diet, don’t do drugs, drink alcohol or smoke and see your doctor regularly you should be just fine.
Did you have a geriatric pregnancy? Please let us know in the comments.
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4 Responses to “Are You Having a Geriatric Pregnancy?”
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December 16th, 2018 @ 9:58 pm
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December 17th, 2018 @ 8:30 am
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December 25th, 2018 @ 11:29 pm
I had my first child and only child at 41 , she is 5 now and what a lovely vegan princess she has become …i had a natural birth , her weight was low , but now she is doing great , and i had no complications or high blood pressure … my gyn always told me if you get pregnant the natural way and you are ” older” , it means your body’s condition is still ” young” enough ‘-)
December 26th, 2018 @ 11:28 am
Hello. I had my last baby boy at 44..he was conceived naturally. We both suffered at the hands of diabetes..I was having to inject myself with insulin after a diagnosis of stage 2 diabetes. My womb expired at week 35 and was brought into the world via C section weighing 10lb..he was placed in intensive care for 9 days with a collapsed lung and chest drain. He is now 6 happy healthy raised vegan with no long term effects. I was floored by the pregnancy with daily sickness and crashing fatigue.