Common Pregnancy Problems in Old Age Pregnancy

Problems that doctors see more often in older pregnant women include gestational diabetes, high blood pressure and placental problems. (See chapter 17 for further information.) Older women may also experience more bladder problems. Older women have more miscarriages, more Cesarean births and are at a slightly higher risk of giving birth to a baby with genetic or chromosomal abnormalities. But most older pregnant women have uncomplicated pregnancies and deliver healthy babies.

Beginning in their late 30s, women are more likely to develop medical conditions associated with reproductive organs, such as uterine fibroids and muscle tumors, which may cause pain or vaginal bleeding as pregnancy progresses. After 40, a woman may feel the physical strains of pregnancy even more. She may be more bothered by hemorrhoids, incontinence, varicose veins, vascular problems, muscle aches and pains, back pain and a harder, longer labor.

Two serious pregnancy risks increase for women in their 40smiscarriage, and birth of a child with Down syndrome. Miscarriage ends about 40% of pregnancies in women who get pregnant after age 40.

The national average for Cesarean deliveries is close to 25%. The rate rises slowly with age, to 30% for women in their 40s.

The risk of a pregnancy ending in stillbirth (the baby is dead upon delivery) has fallen for women of all ages in recent years. For a mother older than 35, the risk is about 7 in 1,000. The risk of some birth defects does not increase for older mothers. These include spinal-cord defects (spina bifida}, cleft palate and clubfoot.