Is there a perfect age to get pregnant? It's a question that's probably crossed everybody's mind, particularly if your 30s are around the corner.
But if you've put off having a baby until your 30s or 40s, you're in good company.
Dr Kristi Williams, learn about co-author and an associate professor of sociology on the Ohio State college, stated:
"We nonetheless want to be involved that women who’re having births in their early 20s could face extra health challenges as they attain middle age than those who wait longer." shared to Celeb Square.
As women reach their thirties, they experience a decline in fertility. The fertility regulator HFEA says female fertility declines sharply after a woman reaches the age of 35.
Complications during pregnancy are also more common when women reach 35.
Age-related decline in fertility may be due, in part, to the following:
- A decrease in the number and health of the eggs to be ovulated.
- Changes in the hormones resulting in altered ovulation.
- The presence of other medical and gynaecological conditions, such as endometriosis, which may interfere with conception.
Fortunately, much of what we hear about potential risks, especially for expectant mothers older than 35, is unnecessarily alarming.
- Chronic health problems will arise such as diabetes or high blood pressure, are more common in women in their 30s and 40s.
- High blood pressure and diabetes can develop for the first time during pregnancy, and women over the age of 30 are at increased risk.
- Stillbirth (delivery of a baby that has died before birth) is more common in women over age 35. Older women are also more likely to have low-birth-weight babies (weighing less than 5.5 pounds at birth).
- Caesarean birth is also slightly more common for women having their first child after age 35.
However, in some instances, younger is not always better.
Women ages 20 to 24 have a slightly higher risk of preeclampsia, a dangerous pregnancy condition that causes high blood pressure and protein in the urine, than women in their middle 20s and early 30s.
Dr Williams said: "We’ve had all this center of attention on the unhealthy effects of teen childbearing but by no means in point of fact requested what occurs if these teenagers waited except early adulthood."
The research was published in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior.
