Ladies Over 35 Years Of Age Having Babies
See my previous posts:
Ageism and Singlehood: Ask Amy Columnist
Infertility/ Kids/ The Male Biological Clock
One scare tactic political conservatives and evangelical, fundamentalist, patriarchal, and Baptist Christians use is to tell young women:
“Marry now while you are 20 years old, because by the time you hit 35, your eggs will dry up and marriage will be too late and pointless for you” (marriage is not for pro-creation only, you idiots).
In light of all these articles I’ve seen in the last several years pointing out that more and more women are not having their first baby until age 35, 40, or older, these scare tactics are empty (not to mention under-handed and a cheap shot).
(For anyone who may want to leave a comment under this post:
remember, I do not entertain dissenting views or argumentative types on my blog. I don’t like ageist comments, either.
Invariably, some ageist flamer or troll will want to leave a comment under this post going on and on about health risks involved with a woman over 35 getting pregnant, and / or some sexist pig will want to blame “feminism” for why some women don’t become mothers until past their twenties, and yada yada. I won’t be publishing any such remarks (like I did one time under an older post on this topic), so please, don’t waste your time or mine by composing such a remark on my blog.)
Actress Halle Berry, as I write this, is 46 or 47 years old.
Links:
Halle Berry calls second pregnancy ‘the biggest surprise of my life’
Halle Berry on pregnancy: ‘Biggest surprise of my life’
Halle Berry joins growing group of older moms
Excerpts (click the link to read the whole thing):
Actress Halle Berry has joined a growing group of celebrity and real-life moms who are getting pregnant after 40. Berry recently announced she is carrying her second child at the age of 46.
While birth rates for almost all other age groups are at historic lows, according to a 2012 report from the National Center for Health Statistics, the rate for women in their late 30s and early 40s is on the rise.
By 40, a woman’s reproductive chance is less than 5% per cycle, so a natural pregnancy is rare. And pregnant women in their 40s face increased risks for several health issues, including gestational diabetes, high blood pressure, breast cancer and miscarriages.
But Dr. Petra M. Casey said those risks vary significantly from patient to patient.
“Underlying health is a huge factor in the outcome of pregnancy,” she said.
Casey, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Mayo Clinic, gave birth to her two children at age 38 and at 41. “I don’t, unfortunately, look anything like Halle Berry,” she joked.
“Some women are incredibly healthy at 40; some are sick at 20,” she said. “That all makes a huge difference in the challenges they may face in being pregnant.”
Berry looks healthy and has less body fat than most Americans. She also makes a great salary, so she can afford to pay for good medical care. All of those elements are factors in her favor. But one factor she can’t change is the age of her eggs.
“Aging eggs cannot be helped and are a risk factor for anyone her age,” Casey said.
Doctors have several tests available to see whether the child will have any kind of chromosomal problem that could come with aging eggs.
“In terms of risk with women who are a little bit older and the potential genetic problems the baby may have, we pay closer attention to that for sure,” said Dr. George Macones, chairman of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Washington University in St. Louis. “If someone is healthy, though, and doesn’t have medical problems other than the genetic issues, there shouldn’t be a lot to worry about.”
Macones has seen a significant increase in the number of older patients he sees. “I believe my oldest patient was 54. She was incredibly fit as a competitive athlete and everything went fantastic with her pregnancy and birth,” he said.
Related Post:
(Link): With Menopause Reversal, Women Could Be Forever Fertile
Christian Pundit 