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1103532 tn?1257896016

Pregnant @ 43 with history of abortion

I finally took the pregnancy test earlier today and found out that I'm pregnant after 14 days of missed period. I have 2 daughters from previous marriage (15 & 12) and my husband has 2 daughters also from previous marriage (18 & 16) I had an abortion over 6 yrs ago and it placed me in deep depression. This is another unplanned pregnancy while we've been having protected sex (condoms). I don't know what the heck happened. I was so mad at my husband earlier. I have a history of breast cancer and just found out that abortion increases my risk of getting BC by about 60% or more. A dense tissue was seen on my left breast just last month but the doctor told me not to worry about it. I am now confused if I should keep this baby or not cause I'm also worried about the chance of having a baby with down syndrome due to my age. My husband and I are undecided whether to keep this or not. I'm feeling depressed by the minute. Part of me want to have abortion (but worried about my BC percentage risk) and part of me want to keep the baby (what if it's a boy this time but what about the risk of down syndrome?). I don't know what to do. Please help.
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377493 tn?1356502149
I apologize if that was offensive or made you feel unwelcome, that was not my intent at all.  Personally I am firmly pro choice, and I do not nor would I judge you.  It can just be a sensitive issue and I hate to see any arguments break out.  I truly do wish you well in whatever you decide and respect your right to decide what is best for you.  
Helpful - 0
951946 tn?1263565383
Just after a cursory glance over that site and its links:

The website you refer to is backed by pro-life organizations, and the research cited therein was also funded by pro-life charities such as LIFE, and Phyllis Schlafly, an activist who has spent decades trying to prevent women from having the legal right to their own reproductive choices.

I would be very wary of it as a source of unbiased information, on that basis. The site also seems to be very anti-contraception and menopausal hormone therapy.

I did look at the first study cited, (again, it was funded by LIFE), and it found that there is only a connection between abortion and women who have never given birth (ie. "nulliparous" women.) So, that would not apply to you.
Helpful - 0
1103532 tn?1257896016
That's ok...I'm a newbie here and I didn't know that posting this kind of topic is inappropriate in this forum. I'm sorry. I will try the forum you mentioned. Thanks for responding. I appreciate it.
Helpful - 0
1103532 tn?1257896016
Hi, thanks for responding. Here's one of the sites where I got the information on abortion/breast cancer:  http://www.abortionbreastcancer.com/    

No i don't have a history of DS. Thank you for mentioning CVS in 11 wks. I didn't know that. It's the main thing that my husband is worried about.  Birth defect was also the reason why i had an abortion over 6 yrs ago.

Thanks again.
Helpful - 0
377493 tn?1356502149
Whether or not to have this baby is a decision only you and your husband can make.  I will tell you it's a bit of a difficult topic for many here as so many of us have been through so much trying to have our babies, so please, do not be offended if you do not get too many responses. You may want to try the women's health forum.  As for DS, yes, the risk does increase slightly at our age (I will be 41 when my son is born), but there are tests to find out for sure.  In my 2 years on this forum I have seen many many healthy babies born to women in their late 30's and early 40's and very few situations (maybe 2 or 3) where baby was born with a chromosonal defect.  It is still incredibly rare as most of the time our bodies do miscarry on their own with a chromosonal abnormality.  

Like Ruby, I have never heard of a link between abortion and breast cancer, I too would be questioning the source.  It doesn't really make sense to me.  
Helpful - 0
951946 tn?1263565383
I have never heard that there is a connection between abortion and breast cancer-- just curious as to where you are getting that information?

The risk of DS is still statistically quite low for you, unless you have a history of DS in your family, and even still, it's quite low based on age alone. If you want to keep the baby, I wouldn't let that small risk dissuade you. You can get CVS as early as 11 weeks I believe, and that will tell you for sure whether or not the baby has DS.
Helpful - 0
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