pregnancy at 42

[rr942]

I have just learned I am PG at age 42.  I have a grown daughter and a 7 yo son.  I have recently remarried and he has no bio children of his own.  I am in such conflict on what to do since there is so many risks over 40.  Any advice out there

[mommy82008]

I had baby # 6 at 41, #7 at 43 and #8 at 45.  All healthy, all well.  CONGRATS and enjoy the special blessing sent to you from God above.  He has purpose for EVERY life HE creates.

[martikadragoon]

Oh and the blood tests that give you your odds of a baby with a genetic problem are NOT positive or negative they just indicate your odds.

[martikadragoon]

If you have an NT scan it has to be between 11-13w and if it's closer to 11w or almost 13w then it can be less reliable.

my previous response was NOT meant to scare you at all. I just wanted to share some info.
My suggestions would be that you need a level 2 ultrasound and the dr. should check for any soft markers, also he or she would be able to tell you if baby has no nasal bone. (babies born w/no nasal bone have button noses) the dr can look at the baby and do measurements, and look at the hands (closed hands can indicate Trisome 18)

When your about 21 weeks you really should request to have a Fetal Echo.


I think that things will be just fine with this baby. he or she will be born perfect. :)

[adgal]

I have a healthy beautiful little boy I delivered almost 11 weeks ago.  I was just 8 days shy of 41.  Yes, there are higher risks, but not as high as you might think.  Lots of us are having babies in our 40's now.  If you are really concerned, there are tests you can have.  Congrats on your pregnancy and best of luck!!!!

[rr942]

Thank you to everyone for the great advice and personal experience's...First Dr. appt. on Thursday!!  Wish me luck!!

[Courtcoop]

I am 41 and 9 months pregnant....first child for both me and partner.  

Although the tests can scare the hell out of women our age, most of them are false or wrong.

Enjoy your pregnancy and do not stress!

[JourneyJoJo]

I delivered at 42 and have a beautiful, healthy 7 week old son.  My cousin had a healthy baby girl at 41 who is now 5 years old.  It's scary, yes, but the chances of your baby being healthy are good.  Good luck!

[oceanv]

My sister gave birth in November 2009 (she is 42 this august) and her baby was perfectly fine, I gave birth in September 2009 and I'm now 40 and my daughter is perfectly fine, my best friend had a baby boy in October 2009 and is perfectly fine - she is also 40.

My quad test results were 1:400.  It's such a personal decision but I don't think just because you're 42 things will necessarily go bad for you or your baby.

There is the quad testing (although this just stresses most people out), there are the 12 week u/s and the 20 wee u/s (which is very detailed and should let you know if there are markers for problems etc.....) also, not to put a damper on things or depress anyone but there is about a 25% chance of miscarriage up to 12 weeks.

J

[Ecologic]

You can go through the blood tests/ultrasound called integrated test that's done at 11-13 weeks. I did it at age 40/41 with my current pregnancy, results were quite good and I decided not to have the amnio.  
Or you can go straight for the amnio at 16-18 weeks, that will tell you exactly if your child will have down syndrome or not.

For now make an appointment with your ob-gyn and ask for a referral for a high risk pregnancy doctor (perinatologist) as regular ob-gyn are often clueless about us older pregnant ladies. A perinatologist will have all the answers to your questions.

[slmcgaughey]

Congrats on your pregnancy!   I am currently 38 and 31 weeks with my second husbands first.  My kids are also older; 21,18,17.  Yes, the risks are higher after thirty-five. But remember there is another side to all those "scary" numbers that are out there.  A 1 in a 100 chance of DS also means a 99 in a 100 chance of being absolutely normal.   My advice is to look on the positive and not to stress yourself out with the statistics.  Enjoy your new little one and again congrats!

[prevatt77]

I delivered my healthy little man at the age of 41.  Good luck to you, everything will be fine.

[martikadragoon]

Congrats on your pregnancy!

Yes there are risks at being a mom with "advanced maternal age" (I hate the term but that's how the medical community says it).

I thought you might be comforted with an interesting fact. Most women associate being older with having a child with down syndrome.

Yes your risks are higher But approx %80 of babies born with down syndrome are born to moms UNDER 35 years old.

I'm one of those moms. My son was born when I was 21. The reason that more babies with ds are born to younger moms is we have more babies.

If you have questions about prenatal tests and stuff like that feel free to message me. Just click on my name and then click the "send a message" button on the upper right hand side of the screen.

There are multiple tests you can have done before the baby is born to make sure he/she is ok.

Your risks only increase %1 for every year over 35.  Since I have a child with down syndrome my risk until age 35 are %1 and then it just goes higher. I have an almost 4 month old son who is Typical and has no health problems. my son who has down syndrome is 19 months old.

[claud9]

Hi I too am 42 and 14 weeks pregnant. Today I went in for the NT scan my results were 1 to 8500. Yes there are risk but there are also those who go on to have healthy babies. It is still a long way for me but I have faith that everything will be ok.