In the United States, it has become very common among women to have babies in their adulthood. There are many reasons why women want to wait and a lot of factors that play into it. A huge obstacle that stands in the way of having children is money. A researcher for birth rates, Hans-Peter Kohler, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, says, “When the economic picture is uncertain, people hold off all sorts of commitments, and having children is one of them” (Bakalar, 2016). It is important to have the funds to be able to support a child rather than have a baby early on and not have enough adequate resources to care properly. Another researcher, Hannah Nichols, points out that, “[w]omen reaching higher education levels, establishing their career, improved methods of contraception, social and cultural shifts that have left women feeling not ready to have children, lack of childcare, low benefit levels, inflexible workplace policies, economic or housing uncertainty, and unemployment” are all factors that play into delayed pregnancies (Nichols, 2017).
There are also many risks associated with pregnancy in those of advanced maternal age for both the mother and child. Some of the risks that can go along with pregnancies after the age of 35 from a maternal standpoint can include but not limited to: stillbirth, gestational diabetes, birth defects, high blood pressure, loss, and declining fertility. Declining fertility is important because as a woman, you are born with all your eggs and as you get older the number of eggs you have decreases. Risks for the fetal standpoint include the abnormal number of chromosomes which results in down syndrome. 1 in 240 have down syndrome if the mother is 35. If the mother is 40 it can be 1 in 53 (Nichols, 2017). Another genetic complication can result in Turner syndrome. Turner syndrome is where female babies are lacking their X chromosome (Mayo Clinic Staff 2017). There also can be another genetic complication, Edwards syndrome. Edwards syndrome causes severe developmental delays due to an extra chromosome 18 (Brennan 2019).
Along with the increased number of pregnancies past the age of 35, there have been many tests and technologies created in order to help detect the risks associated with an older pregnancy. One of the technologies is Chorionic villus sampling and it checks for genetic problems in the fetus. The test is done by removing a small piece of the placenta (Hirsch, 2019). Another test that can be done is an amniocentesis. Amniocentesis is done in order to show the sex of the baby and to check for genetic problems (Hirsch, 2019).
I think there are always going to be risks in any pregnancy so I think that if someone wants a baby and is super educated on the risks then their age shouldn’t defer them. I think it is very important to be able to have the funds BEFORE you have a child so you have enough resources to take care of a child. For me, I want to make sure that my life is stable before I bring a baby into the world and I am confident that if I am over the age of 35, then I will have the medical help needed to support and inform me during my pregnancy. I also think society is having to face this issue to do higher level education, parents wanting to be financially stable, etc.
Sources:
Bakalar, N. (2016, February 29). Women Waiting Longer to Have Children. Retrieved from
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/01/science/age-when-american-women-have-children.
Brennan, D. (2019, July 19). Trisomy 18 (Edward's Syndrome): Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis,
Prognosis. Retrieved from https://www.webmd.com/baby/what-is-trisomy-18#1
Hirsch, L. (Ed.). (2019, August). Genetic Testing (for Parents) - Nemours KidsHealth. Retrieved
from https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/genetics.html
Mayo Clinic Staff. (2017, November 18). Turner syndrome. Retrieved from
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/turner-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-2
0360782
Nichols, H. (2017, June 9). Pregnancy after 35: What are the risks? Retrieved from
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/317861#Risks-of-delaying-pregnancy-until-
Age-35-years-or-older