AMA (35+) Moms

H4aPartyof5

Just curious how many of us on the board are "Advanced Maternal Age" (AMA)?  Is this your first, second, third, etc.?

I'm 35 and will be 36 in May.  This will be my third child, and the first of my pregnancies where I will be AMA.  I know that my doctor will suggest some kind of free cell fetal DNA testing based on past experience, but I'm curious if there will be any changes in how they monitor this pregnancy vs. the last one.  I kind of doubt it.

SchruteBucks

Me!  I'm 40 and will be 41 this weekend  This is my sixth pregnancy.  I've had two losses, so this will hopefully be my fourth child.  I've never done any of the additional testing.  I see a midwife, so the type of care is more hands-off than seeing an OB.  My last pregnancy (at age 37) was treated no differently than my pregnancies in my 20s. 

MrsBinPA

I turned 37 earlier this month.  This is my third BFP, but hopefully 1st take home baby.

MamaWino

@H4aPartyof5, same!  I'll be 36 in July and this will be my third child (4th pregnancy).  I'm still being seen by my RE and won't be released to my OB till 8 or 10 weeks so I haven't been able to discuss what kind of testing/additional monitoring will be available to me.  I'm curious!

ArtlessIbex

I will be 37 in about a week.  This will be our second.  My OB didn't mention my age, so I'm hoping I can just slip by without ever being referred to as AMA (or the dreaded "geriatric pregnancy")!

abrandt31

I'm 40, will be 41 this summer. My DS was born when I was 36 and I always hated that my OB would tell me I was higher risk because of my age. I don't remember though if I had any 'extra' tests done because I was older.

H4aPartyof5

@ArtlessIbex, my DH asked me yesterday whether it was true that they refer to pregnancy after 35 as a 'geriatric' pregnancy, LOL.  Historically, my OB only brings up my age at the initial visit, but I fully expect her to go pretty in depth about it this time (she was all about the facts/figures even at 33).

bakerstreetboys

I'm 38 and this is pregnancy number four for me.  My youngest is 5.5 so it will be my first "AMA" pregnancy.  I am curious too if my OB will treat it any differently than my first three.  In some ways I hope not (I'm already well aware of the numbers), but a doctor paying close attention is never a bad thing.

Jennys9

39 and this is my second.  We were/are in infertility treatments for a number of years.  I would love to have a third but I'm not sure if it will be possible.  I love seeing AMA pregnancies- it gives me hope and makes me feel like I'm not in the minority!!!  

dec16ncbaby

I'm 35 & will be 36 in August! 

SchruteBucks

We should do a weekly AMA check in.  Is that allowed?  

H4aPartyof5

SchruteBucks said:

We should do a weekly AMA check in.  Is that allowed?  

@SchruteBucks, I don't see why not.  I'd be interested if someone wants to start one.

washyourhandsplease

I turned 35 last year during my pregnancy.  I don't think I had a test that was mandatory because I was AMA.  However, my doctor suggested the Verifi test that was completely covered by my insurance because of my age.

MamaWino

@washyourhandsplease, do you remember how many weeks you were when you had the Verifi test done?  It's done pretty early, right?

nicolinam3

This is my third pregnancy and I I will be 38 this month. I have two other children 8 & 6. Best wishes to all!

washyourhandsplease

@MamaWino  I don't remember the exact week, but it was done pretty early on. I think I might have been 10 or 11 weeks. 

krluvsjh

I am 34, but will be 35 when baby is due. My OB will have me do the MaterniT21 test between 10-12 weeks.

jptrumptone

This is my very first! I turned 35 at the beginning of the year so I guess that makes me a member of the AMA club 

abrandt31

I'm 40 and will be 41 in July. My DS was born when I was 36.

bakerstreetboys

I just had my first visit with my family doctor who told me about a new testing that we have in Canada!  It's called Panorama, it's non-invasive, and they screen for a ton of different chromosomal defects that they used to need an amnio for.  It looks really interesting; they get baby's DNA through a simple blood draw from the mom.  They do it as early as 9 weeks and of course can tell  you the sex of the baby!  The only downside is that it isn't covered and costs about $550....
I will definitely be asking my OB more about it in a couple of weeks.

washyourhandsplease

@JessCL I had the Panorama test done when I was pregnant with my now 2 year old.  My doctor thought it was covered by my insurance, but it wasn't.  I got a bill for $2500.  Needless to say, my doctor wrote off the invoice because I was misinformed.  However, I loved the test because I found out the sex of the baby very early on.  The verifi test is done early and you can also find out the sex of the baby.

bakerstreetboys

@washyourhandsplease I'm thinking the cost may be worth it just to find out what we're having   It's a flat $550 where I am though, so no surprise costs.  I'm going to Google the verifi test!

Kacie209

Hello! I just turned 35 in February, and this will be my 1st child.

I'm nervous, as I had ready LOTS of stories about AMA and things that could happen... but know that those things can also happen at any age.

I plan to do any testing when asked, and hope it's covered by insurance. Is this the same test as genetic and chromosomal abnormalities? I know we will do that one.

jennbaylor12

I'm 35, will be 36 in July. No clue how my Dr will treat the AMA issue, but I'll be having the same OB as last time so at least he's familiar with me/my health/prior pregnancy, etc. I had a Panorama with my now 2yo and it was covered by insurance

AMack1216

So it looks like I'm the oldest so far.  I'm 42, will be 43 this fall.  This is my first rodeo so I'm unsure what screening the doctor will suggest due to my age.

cmread

I'm 37, and this will be my 3rd.  My youngest was born when I was 34, and I've also moved and switched OBs since then, so I'm curious to find out what my new doctor will say.

zubenescamali

I'm 35, will be 36 in a few months. haven't heard of panorama or verifi before, I guess I have some reading to do!  this will be my third, hoping all goes smoothly, my second had some mild developmental delays so i'm not sure how that will factor into anything this time around if at all.

a2003tiger

I will be 35 in July, this is baby #3!

hornspeckrdn

I'm 38 and this will be my first. My first appointment will be April 27, so I guess I will find out then if any different steps will be taken based on my age.

leksiL

I'm 35 this will be my first! So glad I'm not the only older mom to be

squiddy224

I am not quite AMA - I just turned 34 in March, so will still be 34 when our Bean arrives in December.  This is our first baby, and might be our only.  But I do feel relieved to see other "older" moms on here.  A lot of my family members have had children when they were much younger than me (10 years in my little sister's case!), so I'm the outlier!

bakerstreetboys

I love my OB...when I asked him if I'd be treated differently he said "oh, I hate that term, AMA"!  They will treat me the same as they did with my other babies unless there is a problem.

shara3333

I'm 34, but will be 35 when baby is due.  First appt is this tomorrow with a different OB than I had with DS, so we will see what he has to say about AMA! My last OB was very laid back in general and I liked that, so hopefully this one will be too. 

juliehollz13

H4aPartyof5 said:

SchruteBucks said:

We should do a weekly AMA check in.  Is that allowed?  

@SchruteBucks, I don't see why not.  I'd be interested if someone wants to start one.

@DiFazette @H4aPartyof5

jennbaylor12

I'd love a weekly check in!

spruce1978

I'm 38, and this is my second pregnancy. I was 34 when I delivered last time, so I'm joining the AMA club this time. First OB appointment is tomorrow, so we'll see what he has to say.

ChastainMT

I am 35 and will be 36 in July. This is my 6th pregnancy, I've had one loss, so hopefully this will be my 5th baby. I've never done any additional testing before, my doctor offered Panorama last pregnancy but it wasn't  covered by insurance.  Not sure if we will have it done this time or not.  So far none of my pregnancy have been treated any different. I will say its a lot harder on me being pregnant at 35 versus 21.

MizTenaciousT

I'm 37 and this will be my first! 

NenaMommy

I'm 40, and this is my first pregnancy.

NenaMommy

@squiddy224 - Looks like we have the same due date!

cut3cupl3

Happy mother's day ladies I am 36 my husband and I have two high schooler and a three years old little princess. We thought we were done once our 11 years standoff ended with our girl, but we are expecting our 4th this December.