Pregnant at 41 Need Advice from Other Older Moms

Hi I had my daughter at 39 and was high risk also. I decided not to do any tests since nothing was going to change my mind. I would accept what ever came my way. She is healthy and normal. It's funny cause she is a aunt to 2 neices and a nephew. At age 6 she was a aunt and people would ask me what my grand dauthter was calling her. I would say auntie. It was cute
D.

Hi- I had my first children at 41, not by choice. My husband & i tried for on & off for 21 years & finally were blessed with Zachary & Arianna. I LOVED being pregnant. I didn't have morning sickness (sorry). I knew when something got a bit scary, like bleeding through the first couple of months. I just believed this was the right thing, the right time & I put my faith in the powers that be. Most of I stayed calm & listened. My chuldren were born early 8 weeks at 4.6 & 4.7 they will be 5 in September. We are going to try to have 1 more now & I konw all will go well. I hope this helped.

Hi Angela
I was an older mom with Downs in my family The Dr put me through holy you know what. I chose to not have any of the tests and my now six year old is doing just fine. I also know a few other mothers who have had children much later and their kids are just fine also.I hope this gives you a little piece of mind
D. D.

Hi A.,
I am a mom and grandmother, but had my kids young, so this is just a bit of mom-to-mom food for thought.(I'm no doctor, but I had two daughters, and each one has given us a grandchild. EVERYONE very healthy, thank God.)
You are healthy and have had healthy babies in the past.
You're only 41,in great shape, not even 45 yet. So from there, I would say that's a great start.
Trust your own body, mind, and spirit. Unless you are feeling different or "off" physically,or have a mother's intuition that something is off with your new baby-to-be, OR plan to terminate the pregnancy if the baby may have birth defects,why have invasive tests?
You know yourself that there are plenty things that can go wrong with ANY pregnancy.(We all have those fleeting fears that something may go wrong with the pregnancy or birth!) I'm not advising you to bury your head in the sand, BUT to take care of yourself and the baby exactly the way you did the other times.And think, intend, and work toward healthy vibrant you, health vibrant baby. I think a lot of doctors who collect from insurance companies reccommend many tests which are really unneccessary , just to make $$ off them.
Especially if results are unreliable, or obtaining them would be dangerous or put you at risk of infection to you or the baby,why undergo these procedures??
Remember the old saying,
"Mamma knows best"? I believe that is still true.
My best , and hugs, to you.
N.

I am not yet 40, but during my last pregnancy I was considered "advanced maternal age"...I had put a lot of thought into tests, what they tell you, and what i would do if they indicated a possible birth defect, etc.....I had witnessed others going through the false positives ( and the correct positives...less frequent). I know of children with chromosomal anomalies, etc. Even before I was pregnant this last time, I had decided that any information on the health of my baby would not effect what I would do. I decided that any information the available tests would give me would not provide me with any necessary information to prepare for the child's birth. Many who suggest these tests (MD's) will say that they can give you time to prepare if there might be a health issue, etc...I didn't feel I needed that warning, I would deal with if if necessary. I tool this stand after watching a friend agonize for months whether her child would be healthy (problems based on the AFP...she declined amnio as she had a prior miscarriage and didn't want that risk). Then, I have a friend who, like you, was having a child when there were older children...she wanted to be sure that this child was healthy as she didn't feel it would be fair to her other kids to take all of her attention from them with a child who might need her complete attention due to a "problem". What I am trying to say is maybe just think about wht these tests will do for you...will they give you any information that you will possibly act on, or will the information not impact anything you will do in the next few months? That is the approach I took, and when telling the MD's they respected my decision. What ever decision you make, just stick by it. If it is right for you, than I feel it is the best decision. Enjoy your new baby!

Hi,

I had my first baby at 39 (he was 10-1/2 lbs...no C-section!) and my daughter at 42. I did have amniocentesis with both. We met with a genetics councilor for both tests; I must say the first person we had was very grim, pointing out everything we might encounter. The second experience was fine. Both tests came out OK. Although we thought it was an important thing to do, I have other friends who decided not to because of the small risk of miscarriage. I also have a friend who's test indicated a strong possibility for spina bifida, whose son was born perfectly healthy. At Mass General, when I had my second pregnancy beginning at 41, I was not considered high risk unless I had another factor such as asthma or diabetes. Age is a factor, however. As far as the genetics testing, I guess it depends on if you want to know if there are any potential problems to expect. There are alternatives to amnio that you can ask your doctor about.

Good luck!

Dear Angela

I wanted to respond to your posting - as both a parent and a professional. I'm now 42 and have a healthy 7 month old son who was born when I was 41. However - I faced the same questions as you about one year ago. With respect to a bit of background about me - in my day job (developmental behavioral pediatrician) - I recommend numerous genetic tests and additional tests to help families identify reasons that children may have developmental challenges; and as a result - I have had a great deal of experience with test results that are meaningless (generally reported as not typical gene or lab result - but no one yet knows what this means because of the newness of some of these findings.) As a result - with our pregnancy with our son - I discussed with my husband (fortunately not a physician) that since many tests don't mean much - unless we would seriously consider terminating a pregnancy because of potential very serious long-term neurological issues - I wasn't sure that I wanted to pursue testing. Given that I was 41 at the time - I knew that there was a risk of increased chromosomal abnormalities with this pregnancy because of my age (because all women have an increased risk as their eggs age of having children with too many or too few chromosomes.) But as I wanted to ensure that my husband was well informed with this decision as well - we also met with a genetic counselor who could explain the rationale behind various genetic screening tests in laymen's terms. We ended up having only a triple screen (maternal blood test in the 2nd trimester) - which was fine; and several ultrasounds to document no physical concerns. We decided not to do CVS or amniocentesis - as all other indicators were positive and we had an ultrasound that looked fine in terms of growth and physical findings. If I were you - I would consider meeting with a genetic counselor to discuss why you might be at risk for possible concerns for your child; and they can tell you what we really can tell with testing. Every family's experience is really anecdotal - but this is a decision that will impact your family from now on - so you might want to be as well informed about your decision as possible. Best wishes with a great pregnancy and beyond! L.

i had my 3rd child at age 38 and that was 13yrs old. i think that they tell anyone over the age of 30 all of the above. there are many tests that they can do now instead of the ammio, where there is a chance of miscarriage because they are taking fluid out/but i really thought that there was a blood test that they could do first to see if there was any problems.And those ultrasound machines have had to improve since i had kids/ any one else want to comment on this??? eve

Hi A. - I understand your consternation... I had my one and only child at 40 - and she is perfect! (Of course, we are now looking forward to menopause and puberty at the same time!)

I also had 2 dear friends that both lost their babies the day after their amnio. I adamantly refused to have one. (What are you going to do anyway? And yes, there are false "positives" - I have a friend that also had one of those and her baby is perfect.)

Instead, I got a referral to Dr. Berryl Benaceraf (not sure of the spelling - it was 10 years ago). She is a world renowned ultra sound specialist in Boston. She will measure all the pieces and parts of your baby (I think I was 18 weeks.)

Downs especially has some odd measurements of arm length, ear placement, hand size, etc...

That's all we did. And we knew that God had it all under control.

Just remember, women have been doing this for thousands of years - without all the needles and tests that we feel are so necessary.

So relax, enjoy, pray, serve Him and get the ultrasound. It will all be OK.

I had my first child at 21, my second at 35 and my third at 40. There is a lot of information and testing available today that wasn't when I had my first. I did do amnio testing with my last two, but I also went in with the idea that it would not influence my decision on the pregnancy but I did feel I need to prepare my self for any possibilities. What the testing did for me is to confirm that I was carrying a health baby. Having a baby older I always say older and wiser, I wished my oldest life away. I was always waiting for the next step. When she sat up I couldn't wait till she crawled, when she crawled I was anticipating her first step. I have found with the last two I spend more time enjoying the moment and less time anticipating the future. It goes way to fast.

You hit the nail on the head when you say "outdated" statistics.

I became pregnant for the first time (actually, second, but I miscarried the first in 1987) in 2001 at the age of 37. I got a lot of blather about my "advanced maternal age" (gotta love that phrase) and the increased chances of having a child with Downs. My doctor told us that we could have the amnio done so that we could find out and "make decisions". My husband and I were furious! First of all, we are pro-life. Second, after waiting so long to have a child (we were married in 1985), we didn't care if I gave birth to a squid. My husband's response: "The only 'decisions' we will need to make is on how to educate the child, and us, if there is something wrong."

Not only was my daughter born perfectly normal, but almost hyper-intelligent.

At 40, I was pregnant again. Needless to say, we went to a different doctor. This doctor mentioned having the amnio done to find out if there was anything wrong, but left it at that. Once again, I gave birth to a perfectly normal, beautiful little girl.

Yes, I did have the amnio done both times, but only so that I could know ahead of time beyond a shadow of a doubt the gender and IF anything should be wrong.

Although it isn't advised, a lot of women are having babies later in life, with absolutely no problems.

Many years ago I gave birth to my third child at age 40. Not only was my age a high risk factor, but it was a high risk pregnancy because I had type one diabetes. This was twenty-four years ago, but even then I was offered many tests to determine if there might be a problem with the baby. My husband and I has also heard of mothers whose tests were false-positives who went ahead with the pregnancies and after months of worrying discovered that their baby was perfectly normal. We decided we could not endure such worry and would rest more easily by rejecting all tests and simply wait until our baby was born. Whatever happened---he is ours and we would love and cherish him. This was my experience and hope it helps.

I had my first baby at 38, and I was recommended by my doctors to have all the tests. I think having the blood test would have been suffient. I did do the amnio, but it was really stressful, not the procedure so much, but imediately afterwards my doctor told me there was a very good chance the baby had downs, because her limbs looked short, she had bright spot on her heart, combined with my age, but they couldn't say for sure for 10 days. I cried for 10 days. My nurse who was an angel put us in touch with a geneticist who said it was a 99% chance she was fine, lots of babies have short limbs and bright spots on there hearts. And she is fine and wonderful and perfect!!!!
good luck, S.

i am 42 and pregnant with my second. my drs said age is not so much of an issue anymore. there are really good new tests out there, specifically the 'era' early risk assessment which is done about 12 weeks. we opted not to have an amnio because my test results were very positive and thought the risks of miscariage with an amnio were greater then the risk of having a child with downs. we also decided to wait for the 18 week sonogram to double check visually that everything was ok, if things didn't look good we would have had an amnio then, but again it wasn't necessary.

my advice is to talk to a genetic counselor, all hospitals have them and can provide more details about what you should be looking for then your dr.

the only issue i have encountered with age is the dr doesn't want me to go late because the placenta breaks downs fasters with age

Try to remember that you can always decline to have the scary tests done. It's your body, your baby. Our rationale was that nothing the tests would reveal would be a deal breaker for us, so why bother having them? Be your own advocate and if your OB is pushy about the testing or not listening to you, find a new one.

Hello,
First of all, congratulations! I had my last baby at 41. He is 4 now. Happy and healthy! I have 5 children in all. 19, 14, 9, 7 and 4. All boys! I decided to forgo any of the tests that they offered me with Aidan. They were not real happy with me, but I figured what happens , happens...and he is fine! When I was pregnant with my 14 year old , and only 30, they did the triple screen test on me and told me that he had a 1 in 18% chance of having trisome 18. I went from month 4 to month 9 unsure of what would happen. Well, guess what? He is fine. I worried and worried...and had I not had the test, I would have forgone all the worry. I am not a huge fan of testing in pregnancy. It is really up to you, but my advice is if you are feeling good, happy, healthy and excited, then keep feeling good, happy , healthy and excited. Enjoy your pregnancy. What is meant to be, is meant to be.
Blessings,
M.

I had an amnio with my first due to a bad blood test. The amnio was fine { it did show a switch in chromasome 17 ( I think), which the Dr. said not to worry about.} My first son actually has Tuberous Sclerosis, a genetic disorder that they can not test for unless you have an identified mutation. Needless to say I had the CVS with my subsequent pregnancies and they were both fine and both are healthy. The bottom line is that becoming pregnnant at any age is a miracle and a leap of faith, and only you can decide what is right for you and your family and those can be very difficult decisions to make. I was in my middle and late thirties then and many of my friends have had perfectly healthy babies in their early forties. Congratulations and Best of Luck!

I'm 39 and just had a healthy baby girl, first child. We are trying for a second baby now. My worries mostly ended with the decision to have no tests based on my sister's comment. She said she was going to have the baby no matter what so the tests presented only a risk of false positive and the slight risk of harming the fetus. The degree to which we older moms are more at risk is a very small percentage. In addition, the level 2 ultrasounds revealed good heart formation and correct head shape and good measurements all around for my daughter. If you were certain to terminate a pregnancy with adverse test results or if you feel more comfortable being prepared well in advance for the arrival of a child with special needs, these are the two situations in which the tests might be a good option.

Dear A. H

First let me say, congratulations!! I too am an older mom (43) of three, a 17 yr old boy and 13 and 4 year old girls. We tried for several years after our second daughter to conceive with no luck, then unexpectedly, we became pregnant at 38. We went through several genealogy tests, ultrasounds, etc. However, against doctor's requests, I did not have the amniocentesis test for downs syndrome, I felt that it was more of a risk to have the test than not to. There can be false/positive readings with these tests, which can cause a lot of stress on the mom. Also, if they had told us that there was a problem with the baby, I still would have continued with the pregnancy, my theory is why put yourself through unwanted stress, if the end result is still going to be keeping your child.
I just want you to know that our experience was an awesome one and we would not change any of our decisions, you need to do what is best for you. It is okay to listen to advice, but in the end, you are the one to make the decision. Best of luck to you and your family.

Angie, I am a CLC, I have been working with many women for about 13 years. unless you have been put in the high risk catagory for any of these conditions. false positives are part of the condition. Go with your heart. you will love this baby with all your heart. listen to that.

Hi Angie,

I was an AMA (Advanced Maternal Age) at 39 so I know the pressure you are under. The doctors and nurses tell you all these test you have to have. They also seem to focus on all the things that could be wrong with your baby. Other than concenting to more sonograms during my last pregnancy, I refused all those test they tried to force on me. God won't give you more than you can handle. Babies are a gift from God. So go girl. Trust you instincts there solid and don't let the modern medicine men scare you. My grandmother had her last child at 50and she had 12 all together. None had anything wrong with them. There are alot of people who don't even start their families till their late 30s. Good luck H. P.

I am shocked that there are any worries when you have had other children! if you BP is high you shoudl be watched for both fo your safty..and down syndrome can be checked with a High End Ultrasound (do not have the bellybutton test)

I was 39 when I finally got pregnant with out son and since he was my 1st and my BP was high I was watched and montitored carefully.

Just keep extra healthy as you will be more tired than you thought by beingthis age with a baby..really lol !

Good Luck and maybe just visit a new doctor (a woman) for a 2nd perspective

Dear A.,

I know how you feel. I am 36 years old now and had my second child last year, so I hadn't reached 40, but since I had turned 35 I was still considered "old enough" to be screened and tested more than when you are younger than 35. I felt it got a bit hysterical. One of the blood tests that I did that measures some hormone in the blood was a bit high and I almost felt pressured from the obstetrican to have an amniocentesis. My husband and I discussed it and decided not to take it because the risk of us having a child with Down's Syndrome was less than the risk of miscarrage after the amniocentesis. However, it is up to each individual to do what they feel is right for them, but don't let anybody pressure you to do tests if you don't want to. Also remember that the "cut off" between risk and no risk for many of the tests are set at very low levels of the hormone they are measuring to make sure they catch EVERY woman at the slightest risk. Unfortunately, the result is that there are many false positives (=individuals considered to be at risk) when you do that. It is hard to give you advice what to do, because it really is up to each individual, but remember that you are still at low risk of having a child with genetic defects even when you are above 40, it is just a bit higher than if you were younger.

Good luck!

/V.

Hi A.. I was also pregnant at 41 (as well as at 40, having had both my kids within 17 mos. of each other--we had them close beause of concerns based on my age; both my children are healthy and fine). I suggest speaking to you doctor--they have developed more accurate testing now, with blood work and ultrasounds, that are painfree (mostly) and give you a good sense of your risk factors. Without them, I was initially told I had a one in 45 chance of having a Down baby. With them, the chances changed to one in a few thousand. Big difference! I felt that the main thing for me, as these were my first kids, was that I loved them already so while the tests were helpful, we were already a family. Good luck and all the best to you!

I was 40 when I had my last child. I had 3 children at the time. My first at 22 and my third at 29. My last was more difficult than my others but it wasn't an age factor. At 16 weeks I had to go to Lexington for testing for downs ect..They were great. They did an ultrasound and a blood test and because the blood work was fine they left the decision up to me to do an amnio. I relyed on them for the answer and they said advised not to because the odds of any problem with the baby was so little. ALOT of woman are having babies in their fortys and I think no matter the age there always some risks.

hello A.,im 36yrs old and have an 8month old boy,and i too am considered "advanced maternal age"the test you are talking about is called alfa fetal protien(afp)blood test,they offer it to you at 16-18wks of pregnancy,you can decline it because they find alot of "false positives"so if you do have it done and then your test comes back "abnormal"you will be freaked out that there is something wrong w/your baby...so then what they will do is send you for a level 2 ultrasound at a hospital,(which is a more indepth pics of the baby),they make sure everything is ok with all the organs ect...then at that point they would offer you an amnio,(the reason why i know all this is because i work at an ob office as a medical asst,so i explain this to patients all the time and see both sides.now,you being "ama"they should be sending you for a level 2 u/s anyway (wether you do the afp anyway),im not sure where you go for your care,maybe they do things diff??but anyway i guess my advise to you is you need to think what would you do in the situation if there was any defects,or you could also think it could prepare you for later on.but again you are having (i think)a level 2u/s anyway so you will know ethier way if there are any problems.....for what its worth i declined the afp blood test because of all of the false positives,and because i knew i was having the level 2 u/s, and my level 2 was perfect,oh i also declined the amnio too,(they will be offering that to you also).so i hope my info didnt confuss you,you are not too old,40 is the new 30,and at our practice i would say almost half our patients are "ama".again i hope i didnt scare you or confuse you,good luck with your pregnancy,dont stress, stay relaxed and enjoy the rest of your pregnancy!!

Hi A.,

The choice to have another child is a personal one, but obviously the risks of having a child with Down's syndrome specifically increases with age. That being said you are still far more likely to have a healthy baby then one with Down's syndrome. No pregnancy is without risk and no mother is promised a healthy baby. I have a friend whose son was born with Down's syndrome and she was in her twenties. It is best to be well informed. It is true the blood test routinely done during pregnancy for alpha fetal protein or AFP is simply a screening test and I have known numerous women who have had elevated AFP's yet their children were perfectly healthy. They did suffer significant anxiety of the test results for months though. I guess the bottom line is what will you do with the test results. At 41 your physician will recommend a amniocentesis. This procedure is relatively painless (I had it twice. once with local anesthesia and once without because the physician said it wouldn't hurt.) I recommend the local! This procedure carries a small risk of miscarriage and is done relatively late in pregnancy with results coming in around 20 weeks gestation so many people would not feel comfortable with making a decision to terminate at that time. For me I felt I would rather know in advance and plan accordingly than find out in the delivery room. As it turned out I was relieved by the results and the remainder of pregnancy was more enjoyable because I could let go of the fear of chromosomal disorder. The aminiocentesis screens for many other disorders besides Down's syndrome and it is a sure thing for the sex of the baby. Another test which can be done much earlier in pregnancy is chorionic villi sampling however it carries a greater risk of miscarriage and is not widely avalible. I hope some of this information is helpful. Best Wishes to you and your family.

J. L. 47 year old mother of four (a daughter 28 and son 22 and two other girls Abigail 8, and Grace 6)

I was 35 when I had my first baby. My husband and I were blessed with a honeymoon baby.
The ultrasound tech looked at my age during our very first ultrasound and asked "In-vitro?" I looked at her and replied "No-intercourse!"
They scare the living daylights out of you after age 35! I declined amnio (they recommended it becaue of my age alone) I wouldn't have terminated the pregnancy even if the baby did have Down's. They scared my neighbor and told her the baby may have cystic fibrosis-(which the baby did not) and pushed certain tests for them to proceed with. They declined any further testing while the baby was in-vitro because they would still have the baby either way.It is difficult to muddle through all the options. Good luck!

My opinion is if God allows us to menstruate, then we capable of having babies!
That said, a lot of my friends(I am 45yrs)are having perfectly normal babies over forty.
Here is a support group on line.
http://www.mothersover40.com/

BTW: Congratulations!

The blood tests and early ultrasound tests just refine your odds - so they could be wrong. An Amnio is only wrong if there is a screw-up of some sort in the lab. The difference is that some tests are screening tests (like the blood tests - which you can think of as adding a little more information than what you already have with just your age, which is a kind of screening test too). Screening tests let you know who should get diagnostic tests. The amnio or cvs are diagnostic - they really can tell you if something is there, rather just that it is more likely for you than for other people. I had my first normal baby at 38 and the second at 42. For me after my tri-screen my risks for most of the genetic abnormalities were rated as similar to those of a woman much younger than myself. I couldn't help it though and had the amnio anyway - and it was normal too.

The other thing you should think about is that the odds don't look good when they tell you there is a 1 in 38 (or something like that) chance of a problem. What you need to do is flip that around and you see that also could be stated as "97.4% of the time you will not have the condition", which sounds a lot better. Even a 1 in 4 chance still means that things will be fine 75% of the time! So yes, your chance is higher than an 18 year old, but it is still pretty small. Anyway, I hope all goes well for you - it actually does for most older moms even though the risks are also higher.

Hi Angela,

I have three kids, oldest 31 and my youngest is 11 years old (girls). I had my 11 yo when I was your age. I'm 51 now. Don't believe any of that. I was told the same things. My instint always told me that I was going to have a nice healthy baby. And I did!

By the way I refused all these test for the same reason, because some of them post a high risk of miscarriage. So eat well, exercise and trust your motherly instint. Congratulations and good luck ;-)

You'll be fine ;-)

First of all - Congratulations! I had two pregnancies in my 40's (one a real surprise at 42). Here are my suggestions.... Make sure that you are dealing with a good OBGYN; one that is used to women your age and with your risks. Secondarily, insist on a level two ultra-sound (I once had a tech tell me that my baby had heart defects indicative of Down Syndrome.... Not so. At a large and respected medical facility that did a more advanced ultra-sound, they were wondering why I was even there!). Thirdly, if you do an amnio, it's not so bad (I did one with my third child because I knew she had a double ureter and wanted to acertain if there was anything else wrong). NOTE: genetic birth defects can happen to anyone REGARDLESS of your age. If it makes you feel better, you can see a genetic counselor but at this point, it may not be worth your time. I beat myself up for months thinking that my age was the cause of my child's "plumbing problems." Not so - I was told that these things tend to run in families. Lastly, as you know, good, clean, healthy living will give you the best outcome. Even if you have some problems, it's the age of miracle medicine. My 1 year old (now almost 4) was replumbed by a robot in five hours of surgery and has NEVER had a urinary tract infection. Thank goodness she wasn't my first child born when I was 30! They wouldn't have even known about the problem - Maybe until it was too late. As an older Mom, you will receive greater care and scrutiny and I believe that's a good thing! So.... Good-luck and enjoy!

I had my second child at age 41 and everything was fine. my husband and I did meet with a genetic specialist to determine if we should proceed with an amnio, but based on her questions and findings we were at a low risk for downs syndrome or other health related issues. we chose not to risk losing our child with an amnio and waited until he was born. A strapping 9 lb. healthy baby boy was delivered without complications one day before my due date! I would recommend seeing a genetic specialist and that might put your mind at ease with this pregnancy. I knew that there were no guarantees with my pregnancy, but I felt much better after I saw the specialist. Since you have had healthy pregnancies in the past, you might not be as much of a high risk as you think. Here's to a healthy delivery! DMC

Hi,

You want my take on this. They get you so worried with all these tests. I struggled with infertility for 10 years. Finally, I conceived through artificial insemination my first child at 37. After that I conceived naturally my second child at 39 and my third at 41. Well let me tell you they wanted to do every test imaginable. It was so ridiculous. Some test that wanted to do. They told me well since you are French Canadian and your husband is ..., the combination could produce a baby with....It was so ridiculous. I did not have any tests done with my pregnancies. Not even an amnio because that has a risk factor to it. I said I am going to be optimistic and take good care of myself and not worry. What will be will be and I will deal with it then. There are tests out there that come back as a false positive result. Why should you worry your whole pregnancy for what your child MIGHT have? The only downfall that I have heard about woman having a child late in life after having and raising children in their 20's is that they are more tired because you are not as young as you were when you had your first three. Other than that, enjoy your pregnancy and good luck to you.

Hi A.

I am a 50 year old mother of an 11 year old son. I had in-vitro fertilization at age 38 and had my son at age 39. I had an uneventful pregnancy. I refused many of the tests including the amniocentesis. I had a healthy 9 lb baby at one week over due. My philosophy was that I was having a baby and was not planning on ending the pregnancy for any reason. I had normal tests, like monthly blood work etc. but none of the invasive ones.

These days MANY women are having children well into their forties and surprisingly, you don't hear of many tragedies.

Hopefully you will have a happy healthy pregnancy, but in the end, it's your decision on what tests to have.

Best wishes

Hi from one older mom to another,
First of all consider having a baby a blessing from god. I have had three little cherubs. I had the tests done with my son and then with my daughter. I know it is scary. I had long heart to heart talks with my hubby. After talking about it, we came to he conclusion that we wanted to know if there were any concerns and then prepare if there were. Angela, keep a positive feeling in your heart. Also speak to your dr about ypur concerns. Your concerns are valid but you don't want to be caught being unprepared.. I hope this helps. No matter what you will be a great mom.
H.

I am 41 and just gave birth to my first daughter this summer when I was 40. They now offer the quad screen - which involves simply an ultrasound and blood tests at exactly the right time in gestation to give you the chances of major genetic issues - like Down's Syndrome - with the baby. However, they do not tell you if the baby has Down's, they merely give you the odds that the baby does. That is probably the test your friend had that turned out to be "wrong". It's not "wrong" since they were only estimating the chances. The amniocentesis itself is the most definitive test for Down's and some other genetics disorders and I don't believe it has a high false positive since they are actually looking at the chromosomes from the baby when they do the test. Part of it depends on what you would do with the information, but it really put my mind at ease to have the amnio and I would do it again if I was lucky enough to have a second child. I found the test was not as big a deal as all the hubub about it.

Hi,
You are smart to question, and I'll just share with you briefly my experience - for what it is worth. When I was pregnant with my second child at 39, I refused the test. My doctor was mildly shocked, but very supportive and said I had made a smart decision. She said that UNDOUBTEDLY, based solely on my age, the results would come back saying I would need an amnio. Since there are risks - small, but still real - with an amnio, she said that I was smart to refuse the test IF I would never abort a pregnancy. She said the ONLY reason for taking the test would be if I wanted to mentally prepare for the delivery of a child who may have a genetic problem. I told her I'd rather take my chances than take the risks of the amnio - and she agreed wholeheartedly. She said too many patients just have the test done, and she feels like they haven't really researched the reason why to do it - but doesn't feel that she is supposed to tell them to NOT take a test. So, if your gut says not to do it - then trust yourself.

Congrats on your pregnancy! I had my baby at 39 last year. It was a great pregnancy and my DD is perfect. Everyone gets hysterical about this magic age of 35 and once you hit it "oh no!" OBs are used to covering their bottoms so will be test happy. Women have been having healthy babies over 40 for years and years, but now that there are tests they freak us all out. So you may want to consider a midwife if you don't want test pushers. Eventhough the older you are the higher the chance of a chromosomal abnormality, most babies are fine.

If it is going to stress you out during your pregnancy, you should consider some some sort of testing as stress is no good for the baby or you. I personally would not have the triple or quad screen at our "advanced age". It just gives statistical results as previous posters said, and can cause a lot of undue stress as I believe the statistics are less reliable over 35. Results aren't false, it's just you may show up with a high probablility of a problem, but not have a problem.

They also now do a first trimester screen that involves a blood test and ultrasound that can provide you with some peace of mind. This again is statistical so not as definitive as an amnio or CVS, but combines blood test with physical measurements so may be more useful. The second trimester ultrasound can give a lot of info and is noninvasive. Many babies with chromosomal problems have physical indicators that will be seen by this point in the pregnancy.

I think you need to figure out what questionable results would mean to you. If you definitely wouldn't have an amnio, you may not want to do any screening either as docs are likely to scare the heck out of you if you don't have a great result and that would lead to lots of stress (very possibly needlessly).

FTR I did have an amnio as I wanted to know. I went to a perinantal specialist who did amnios all the time so I was comfortable with the risk.

Angela, I had to respond. I have been where you are. I tried through my thirties to have another child. I miscarried 3. After exploratories, infertility treatments, and stress, I finally conceived by myself at 40. I went the high-risk route, as the doctors suggested. I did the amnio. I was pregnant with a healthy girl. Unfortunately, she was one of the 1 in 4000 pregnancies that react adversely to the amnio. She died and I had to deliver her (around 6 mos.) Would you be another statistic, I doubt it. It does happen though. AT 42, I gave myself until Christmas to conceive and then I had to move on and have a life and enjoy the child I had. I did conceive and had a healthy child. She is the joy to our lives. I chose to not do any testing because it would not have changed my mind to carry the baby to term. Plus, I was gun-shy of any testing. That was 10 years ago and I am not up on the current tests. I would tell you to enjoy this pregnancy and all the gifts this child will bring to you its siblings. Yes, people think she is my grandchild. You can see the surprise on their faces when I say, no, she is mine. Take care of yourself and have your medical check-ups. I would not worry. There are lots of women having healthy children in their 40's. So, I am not sure what advice I am giving you. I guess, don't test if it won't change the end results. Pray and turn all this over to God. He is in charge of our life journey anyway. S.

Hello Angela,

I was 40 years old when I got pregnant. I was not in the best of health as I had thyroid disease for about 15 years at the time. In addition the timing was not so good as I had already made a decision to leave the Father of my child. I had lots of reasons not to be pregnant. I went to NEMC which is supposed to be one of the best hospitals for woman over 35 who are having babies. First of all let me tell you this from the very first appointment I had with a doctor there they tried to convince me not to have the baby. They even told me that I should not let anyone in my family know as yet and go home and think about termination as I was early in term. They filled my head up with lots of negative numbers and percentages about down syndrome and birth defects and so on. I was so scared. I was scared just having a baby alone as a single parent and then I thought to myself what if I have a child that has these defects. I was so scared. It is a good thing that I had mustard seed faith at the time and I used it and I decided to just go with God and have this child that he allowed for me at this age. All through my pregnancy the doctors had such a preconceived notion that this was going to be a problem pregnancy. I had ultasound after ultrasound. They insisted that I have an amiostentiis done which is risky in itself. I had it and everything came out fine. They still were hesitant. I continued in my pregnancey and when I was in my 8 month I developed gestational diabetes. They wanted me to go on insulin right away and that was very scary to me and I would not. They told me that the baby would grow larger making my delivery risky and I still would not take the insulin. I pleaded with them to let me try diet. Well the doctors were upset with me but I tried the diet and I went full term and gave birth to a wonderful little boy who weighed 7 pound even. Not only did I give birth but I did it naturally. Woman are having babies in their forties these days. If you listen to all the risks and things that can go wrong then you would never have children. Pregnancy and childbirth can be risky at any age. They will not tell you that but the fact is that there are more children born to younger moms that have birth defects and down syndrome than those to older moms. There are more complications that have occurred in younger moms than those in olders moms. You have been blessed by God with a child as each child is a gift from Him whether it feels like it or not. I did not want to be pregnant and in additon the timing of my pregnancy was not very good. I have learned that it is not my timing but Gods timing. Do not worry too much about your child. Try not to take everything the doctors tell you about the odds of problems with your baby to the point where you walk around in fear. Quite frankly the odds of us waking up these days are 50/50 so do not let your heart be filled with fear. You are healthy and I suppose it is the doctors job to inform you of these things but ask yourself if you were to discover you were carrying a child who had down syndrome would you not love that child anyway. My advise is to thank and ask God to bless your gift of a child and rely on even a mustard seed of faith that you will have a healthy child.

Like you, I was pregnant at 41 (unlike you, this was my only pregnancy ever). My response will likely be somewhat biased since I am married to a physician. I'd recommend any genetic testing and amniocentesis that you can get that can be safely done. The statistics are what they are on healthy fetuses at that age. Of course, some things can get in the way. I had planned and expected to do an amnio, but my daughter was not positioned in such a way that they could get the amniotic fluid without a risk to her. So we decided to forgo it. But if it had not been for that issue, I would have gone ahead. As it was, I was lucky and blessed to have a perfectly normal and very bright child. But anything is possible, and with all your other family responsibilities, you might want to know and plan ahead if you were to have a special needs child. Everyone has their own thoughts and feelings about what they would do with the information of any test results, but from my vantage point, I would want to know. Particularly with my own retirement not that many more years away (I am now 50 with a 7-year-old), I would have wanted to know if she had needed things that only good planning good provide. You will know in your heart what is right for you and your family. Good luck!