Pregnancy at 30 and the risks involved

The number of women giving birth in their thirties is increasing day by day. Read on to learn about the precautions women need to take to enjoy a healthy pregnancy in their thirties.

Late pregnancy is a much discussed and debated topic, especially among today’s professionally ambitious women. Many are worried about conceiving after the age of thirty. Let us explore this topic thoroughly, and try to get rid of misconceptions.

Nowadays, women are marrying late compared to past decades. The normal age of marriage for girls was around 22 years, which has now gone up to 27 years or even higher. Family planning and conceiving come even later. The number of women giving birth in their thirties is increasing day by day.

When a woman conceives well into her thirties, she needs to plan her pregnancy better to eliminate medical complications. The first step towards self-care is following a proper diet. It is best to stop smoking or consuming alcohol when you are pregnant.

Certainly, there are some risks which we have to face in our late pregnancy like:-

• Miscarriage
• Birth defects
• Twins (which some may not consider a risk or problem and some may)
• High Blood Pressure
• Gestational Diabetes
• Difficult labour

Some above-said problems are described in detail below:-

There is a high chance of miscarriage (early pregnancy loss) in older pregnant women. For all women, the first three months (which we call the first trimester) are very critical.

There can be birth defects in late pregnancy. As women age, the risk of chromosome problems also increases and there is a risk of having a baby with missing, damaged, or extra chromosomes.

There is also the chance of multiple pregnancies after the age of 30 or more. The reason is that as the ovaries age, they are more likely to release more than one egg each month. So sometimes, due to multiple pregnancies, there is a risk of preterm or premature birth.

Nowadays, high blood pressure has become a common problem. Whether you conceive at the age of 25-30 or even more, it has become common for all age groups. Therefore, when you are late in your pregnancy, you also have to take extra care of your salt intake. It should keep decreasing from the very first day of your pregnancy.

Another complication one has to face in late pregnancy is gestational diabetes. It is becoming a common problem for older women. For this, you must consult a good obstetrician-gynaecologist about the diet to follow, before you get pregnant.

Down syndrome is also one of the most common chromosome problems that occurs with late childbearing.

Ellie Rags dale, MD, Director, Foetal Intervention, UH Cleveland Medical Center mentions three areas that women should be aware of -

• Trouble conceiving - Starting in their early 30s, women become less fertile, and it may take them longer to get pregnant.

• Complications during pregnancy - Women of age 30 or more have a higher risk of diabetes and high blood pressure during pregnancy. Older women are more likely to have multiple pregnancies.

• Complications during delivery - The babies are more likely to get delivered via caesarean section. Women who have their first baby after age 30 are also at increased risk of other delivery complications, such as prolonged labour.

Chances of pregnancy at the age of 30 years or older:-

The chances of getting pregnant start declining at 30. The number of eggs in ovaries decreases as women get older, thereby affecting fertility. As per a recent study, It simply means that if 100 fertile women aged 30 years or old try pregnancy, in 1 cycle, only around 20 will be successful, and the others will have to try again.

Summary

Late pregnancy is becoming common with changes in lifestyle and priorities. Women wish to pursue their career goals and live life, before settling down or taking on the responsibility of raising a child. Soon, pregnancies at 30 years of age or older will become the norm.

So it's not like you can't have a healthy pregnancy or a healthy child if you are planning pregnancy at the age of 30, provided you take care of your health and diet. You may also go for Prenatal testing after consulting with your obstetrician-gynaecologist.

Terminologies:

Chromosomes - Structures located inside each cell in the body.

Down Syndrome - A genetic disorder that causes abnormal features of the face and body of the child, medical problems such as heart defects mental disability, etc

Obstetrician-gynaecologist - A doctor with special training & education in women's health.

Complications - diseases or conditions that happen as a result of another disease or condition. An example of a pregnancy complication is preterm labour.

Eggs - the female reproductive cells made in and released from the ovaries.

High Blood Pressure - is also referred to as hypertension.

Multiple Pregnancy - A pregnancy where there are two or more foetuses (Garb).

Prenatal care - A program for pregnant women before the birth of their baby.

Preterm - less than 37 weeks of pregnancy.

References

• Sanket Devlekar.(October, 2017). Pregnancy at 30,https://parenting.firstcry.com/articles/guide-garbh-sanskar-practices/.firstcry.
• iMumz.(October, 2021). Pregnancy at 30.https://www.imumz.com/post/garbh-sanskar-in-pregnancy-benefits-and-practices.imumz/