Getting Pregnant After 40

More and more women are choosing to start families later in life. Often, the reason is because they’d like to focus on their careers first and establish good financial security before having a baby. The decision–a sound one–is not without its challenges when it comes to becoming pregnant and having a healthy pregnancy.

The first challenge: Conception

About 30% of women between the ages of 40 and 44 will experience infertility. Unlike 30 or 34 years olds that have a 20% chance of becoming pregnant each month, a woman in her forties only has a 5% chance of becoming pregnant each month. Some studies conclude that by 45, it’s almost impossible for a woman to become pregnant with her own eggs.

The second challenge: Carrying the baby to term

Around 34% of pregnancies in women between the ages 40 to 44 will end in miscarriage. After the age of 45, that number jumps to 53%. Because of this, it is important for a woman in her forties to seek help from a doctor as soon as possible. 

Many women might want to first try becoming pregnant the natural way, and that’s great! But if there has been no conception after six months of trying, going to a fertility clinic or getting fertility tests and treatment is a good idea.

Just note that fertility treatments are less successful after the age of 40. Success rates for IUI, for example, are only at 5%.

The third challenge: Health

After the age of 40, a woman’s chances of developing gestational diabetes, high blood pressure, pre-eclampsia, caesarean births, and/or premature labour and birth all increase. Apart from those effects on the mother, there is also an increased chance of congenital disorders in the child because of egg quality.

The sooner a woman speaks to a healthcare provider, the more she increases her chances of conceiving and carrying a healthy pregnancy. Keeping in mind that, it is not all challenges! 

There are some big perks to getting pregnant at a late age. First, older parents tend to live longer than their same-age peers who had children at a younger age. This could be because having a child later in life makes a parent want to stay healthier and live longer for their child. 

Second, children of older parents tend to get better test scores than those whose parents are younger. This could be because older parents are financially capable to send their children to better schools, and they may have more patience and time to be involved in their child’s schooling.