Pregnancy over 50

[ralphyboy]

My wife is 55 years old as am I. She has had her period like clockwork since she was 12 years old. For the past year or so she has been going through menopause - night sweats and all but still gets her period but it's now down to every 2-3 months. Very inconsistant.
The issue is that she is still worried about possibly getting pregnant and insists on me wearing a condom until her final period is long behind her. Is she being too overly cautious? I mean really, what are the chances?  

[AnnieBrooke]

The labor & delivery nurses at the hospital where I delivered told me that the oldest woman who had ever had a baby there (and this is just one small hospital) was 56.  It was not her first child, though.  So, as everyone says, it can happen.  The odds are slim, for sure.  The odds are good that if you DO get pregnant, the baby will have issues, so it all depends on how much you like to gamble.  Low probability and high risk of problems if it happens -- where do you stand on that combination?

Why do you say your options at 55 are rather limited?  A man can get a vasectomy at any age, and a woman can go on birth control at any age too.

[adgal]

I don't know the exact odds, but they are slim.  Fertility begins to decline in our 30's (very gradually) and by 50 it is pretty rare for a women to get pregnant without help. However, it is not impossible, and it can happen.  So, as long as she is still ovulating, if you wish to avoid pregnancy, using protection is not a bad idea.

[ralphyboy]

Thank you for the suggestions about what she can do and what I can do. We've already weighed those options. However, at 55 our options become rather limited. The question remains - what are the odds of my wife getting pregnant with unprotected sex?

[April162010]

You can get a vasectomy!

[AnnieBrooke]

If she has had other children, she has a slightly higher chance.  But as Alexis says, the odds are slim.  Why doesn't she just get onto the pill or get an IUD?

[Alexis2358]

It is uncommon, however it IS still possible to get pregnant at that age even currently going thru menopause.    As long as your body has eggs, it will occasionally shoot out a good one, so you just never know.

Like I said, it is SOOOO rare, but it is not impossible.     The chances of birth defects would be considerably higher as well.