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The main disadvantage of a postponed child wish is the decreased fertility. The longer you wait, the more difficult it becomes to get pregnant. It is a biological fact that the number of egg cells has reduced immensely and that the egg cells manifest more chromosomal defects, thus increasing the chance of miscarriage or premature birth.
During the period between forty to fifty years, there is even a large difference between 41 and 49 years of age. The chance of pregnancy at 41, for instance, is much higher than at 43. For example, a woman who is 40 years old, still has a 25% chance of getting pregnant with her own egg cells, whereas a woman of 43 years old only has a 10% chance at that. With women who got pregnant when they were 40, 24% had a miscarriage, while with women of 43 years of age, that number had already risen to 54%. A famous gynaecologist once said that in his thirty years of practice, he had not ever met a woman older than 46, who was able to get pregnant without artificial insemination. That does not necessarily mean you can no longer get pregnant once you are older than 46. It will only no longer be possible with your own egg cells.
Complications during pregnancy is another problem which occurs more frequently when you get pregnant at a later age. During the pregnancy, the risk of a high blood pressure and pregnancy diabetes is rather high. Complications with the delivery or placental problems arise frequently too. Women older than forty often give birth to children with a lower birth weight or to premature babies.
Not only the fertility of women decreases when ageing, but that of men as well. Although women can get pregnant of men in their seventies and older, the sperm quality decreases through the years. Genetic defects in the sperm cells are more likely too.
Financially speaking, the fact is that if you want to get pregnant at a later age, you will also have to take care of the child longer. That implies that you will most likely have to work longer to pay for its study costs. Getting pregnant itself may be expensive too, should you have to undergo certain fertility treatments.
Getting pregnant in your forties: what are your odds?
About two thirds of all women in their forties have fertility problems. Only 5% is able to get pregnant during their first menstrual cycle. They have a 45% chance to get pregnant during the first year, whereas a woman of 35 has a 75% chance of pregnancy in the first year. Why is getting pregnant so difficult once you are over forty? It all has to do with the egg cells. During puberty, you have about 300,000 egg cells at your disposal. Each year, however, about 13,000 die off, so you have practically none left by the time you are 43 years old.
Getting pregnant once you are over 45, is risky, since the chance of miscarriage is rather high. About 45% of all women older than 45 have a miscarriage. However, there is a plus too: Getting pregnant after you have turned forty with a donated egg cell reduces the chance of miscarriage, since it is the age of the donor which determines the risk. Through the modern in vitro fertilization, the chance of getting pregnant at a later age in a healthy way is fairly high.
Should you want to know how Bach flowers can help you get pregnant, click “getting pregnant”.
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