The longer a woman waits to become pregnant, the more at risk she is putting her and her baby for complications or serious problems. It is noticed that in the U.S. the birth rate of women in their 30s or older is at the highest peak (Urmc.rochester.edu, 2020). Some risks that could affect the mother and child during the pregnancy are miscarriages, birth defects, twins, high blood pressure, gestational diabetes, and an overall difficult labor (Urmc.rochester.edu, 2020). Genetics also plays a role in pregnancies. Complications that involve genetics that could be experienced are twins, chromosome problems, such as kids with down syndrome, and birth defects. As most people know, women do not continue to make new eggs throughout their life so their eggs age with them. I like to think of this like old people, because when people start getting older, they also take on new illnesses and problems. It is just what comes with age. One risk mentioned with older pregnancies was chromosome problem. The risk for a chromosome problem can increase the risk for the child to have down syndrome, and after one child is born with down syndrome, the chances of having another child born with down syndrome are higher (Urmc.rochester.edu, 2020). Chromosome issues can also influence the risk of miscarriage (Urmc.rochester.edu, 2020). Some risks the mother could face from a pregnancy of the age 35 and older is ischemic stroke, hemorrhagic stroke, heart attack, and even death (Nichols, 2020). These problems could not only affect the mother during the pregnancy but could potentially develop to chronic illnesses over time. Some technology that focuses on these issues during older pregnancies is something called IVF. It gives the doctors the ability to analyze and maybe even alter the DNA of an embryo (Wymelenberg and (US), 2020). I personally, don’t have an issue with pregnancy over the age of 35. I straddle the fence because some women want to have experience in life and feel like they are ready to handle a child. Some women might want to even have years of a life with just her and her husband. I do think people should consider all the factors when trying to become pregnant because it not only affects you, but it also affects your child.
Urmc.rochester.edu. (2020). Risks of Pregnancy Over Age 30 - Health Encyclopedia - University of Rochester Medical Center. [online] Available at: https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?ContentTypeID=90&ContentID=P02481 [Accessed 16 Feb. 2020].
nichols, h. (2020). Pregnancy after 35: What are the risks?. [online] Medicalnewstoday.com. Available at: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/317861#Risks-of-delaying-pregnancy-until-age-35-years-or-older [Accessed 16 Feb. 2020].
Wymelenberg, S. and (US), I. (2020). New Technologies: The Ethical and Social Issues. [online] Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK235272/ [Accessed 16 Feb. 2020].