Pregnant at 40

Southerndancinmama

Ok I wrote this in the wrong place to begin with, lol.
Is anyone super nervous about having a baby at or after 40?
I am pregnant with my third and am due a week after my 40th birthday. My doctor has been preaching to me about trying to have my kids before 40 and this one was a little bit of a surprise but a welcome one!
Just nervous about ds and health issues for the little one ;

dragonfly711

I will be 39 in two weeks and I am so nervous, I just posted that I was new to this board.  My husband has a nephew with Downs Syndrome who is in his 20s. So I am so nervous about this.  I want to do the genetic testing but not sure on what level.  Not sure if I want an amnio  they scare me and we would still keep the baby even if Downs.  

I am here for you!!! 

mama2many

I had #5 after I turned 39, and just had #6 at 41 - all is well, and no I wasn't nervous. Yes, there are risks, but there are risks in every pregnancy. Good luck!

surpriseaddition

There's really no line in the sand, so going just into age 40 is really not much different than 39 years 10 months for example.  I was a little nervous when I first found out I was pregnant (I'll be delivering at 43), but actually feel much better about it now that I've researched the risks of pregnancy in your 40s.  My OB was the best at relieving my concerns, by telling me that a lot of his patients are over 40 these days.  Good luck! 

soaringflutes

Well, I'm 23 weeks along, and I'll be 42 when I deliver.  Age doesn't worry me.  No one in my doctor's office would dare to give me a hard time about being an older mother.  I've wanted to be a mom all my life, so I'm happy I planned this.

Everything has been going fine with me, as it probably will with you.  Can't tell you not to worry, but I don't worry so much now that I'm over halfway through.

starlee_99

I just had my 1 and only at 41.  Was I nervous yes but I knew she would be perfect.  We had the tri screen and the quad screen.  My quad screen came back at a 1:69 chance for downs.  I was offered further testing but opted out of it.  My baby was born in November and she is perfect.  So even if you get the testing and it tells you that LO has a chance of having downs it is possible that the test results are wrong.  I think that no matter what your age there is always a possibility that you could have a LO with some sort of health issue.

RedLucia

Can your doctor refer you to a genetic counselor? They might really help you to understand your risk and perhaps, put it in perspective. I am meeting with genetic counseling after the results come back from my TNS test. I will definitely have the non-invasive quad screen, but they will help me decide whether to have any invasive testing and to understand how my risk compares to other women's risk. 

Southerndancinmama

Yeh, I have actually had my two previous children in the past 2 1/2 years. Doctor has asked me about genetic counselors and the nuchal translucency screening with the previous two. I thought I might become even more worried if I did those plus insurance doesn't cover it for me. I greatly appreciate the positive reassurance ; I know there are a lot more moms out there our age I just need to pray and be happy I'm pregnant, lol!!

tig594

I will be 42 when my first and only is born and I'm a diabetic.  After miscarrying 2x before this little girl came along I am not nervous now that we're pretty much out of the woods at 29 weeks.  I've had some genetic testing done (no amnio because of the small risk of miscarriage and that nasty needle) with good results.  Even if she isn't what others might consider perfect, she will be perfect to her family.

mamajess68

I can totally relate!  YES, I am very anxious about this baby.  I had my 3rd (surprise) baby a month after I turned 40.  I'm now 44 (45 at delivery) and 7w1d pregnant.  This baby will mean big changes for my family, so not only do I have the regular very AMA concerns, I'm worried about my husband (50) and my other kids.  This baby will be loved but I'm too cautious and concerned to even allow myself to be excited or happy.  My Dr. is great and I've never even seen a perinatologist (sp?) or other specialist, but all the info on the internet tends to worry me even more.

EMF70

I'll be 43 when I deliver.  My anxiety comes and goes.  Luckily,  I see a lot of older moms in NYC which comforts me.

kvn202

I'm 42 and this is my first pregnancy.  I'm definitely nervous.  We opted for have the cvs test and are doing the microarray version which gives the most genetic info possible.  I went to Dr Williams in LA who's done near 30,000 of these procedures.  I had no side effects afterwards and we're hoping to have the results back Monday.  I turned 12 weeks today and so far everything has gone well, great hormone numbers, baby looks good, hb is 173.  That said, I'll hopefully be breathing a big sigh of relief next week.  If everything comes back looking good, we'll be able to relax a lot more.