am I at high risk

Question

im 35 years old and im two months pregnant..
ill be  36 when I deliver everyone keeps tellin me its concidered high risk is that true??

adgal · Answer

Not all Dr.'s will use the term high risk, nor will they necessarily send you to a high risk OB. I was 40 when I was pregnant with my son, and just saw a regular OB. She does not consider you high risk just do to age. She only sends you to a high risk OB if there is a medical condition that may complicate things such as diabetes, etc. It truly is silly to consider a healthy 36 year old pregnant women high risk just because you are over 35. I have no doubt all will be just fine. Congrats on your pregnancy!

jjenkins112 · Answer

Once a woman hits 35, we all get swept into the "high risk" category based on age alone, which is pretty ridiculous. If you are otherwise healthy and have no underlying health issues that could potentially put you or your baby at  risk, you shouldn't worry about the term high risk because it's thrown around pretty liberally without much factual basis. 

I am 40 and will be giving birth to my 1st child in May 2012, and I am seeing my regular ob-gyn. No one in the practice I go to has ever once referred to me as high risk. I had difficulty conceiving (3 years TTC, 3 mcs), but by all accounts both the baby and I are perfectly healthy and at no more risk than any other pregnant woman. Unless your doctor tells you otherwise, don't worry and enjoy your pregnancy!

AnnieBrooke · Answer

If your baby looks fine in all your scans, don't let the term "high-risk" scare you into thinking something is wrong, or labor will be problematic.  They are referring to your doctor more than to you (as in, "at 35, we send all our patients to a high-risk ob-gyn.")  I am not sure if there is an official age that makes a mother high-risk or not; maybe every medical practice uses a different number.  If they are having you see a high-risk ob-gyn, lucky you, they are perinatologists and are very highly trained doctors.

I saw a high-risk doctor all through my pregnancy, but was delivered by the doctor whose shift it was at the Labor & Delivery section of the hospital at the time of day when the baby arrived.