June 2019 Moms

Geriatric Pregnancy (age 35+)

We are having an “oops” baby and I am 40. Would love to connect with the other geriatric pregnancy moms (age 35+) whether this is your first, second, third or more!

What are you finding different during this pregnancy? Why unique challenges or cincerns do you have? 

Our nugget was conceived while on birth control. I have concerns about possible issues because of that. We will see. Our first appointmebt is Nov 15. 

Re: Geriatric Pregnancy (age 35+)

  • r_kr_k member
    edited November 2018
    Evening! I’m convinced that a male came up with that term ‘geriatric pregnancy’. Lol. At least my doctors refers to it as ‘advanced maternal age’. I found that out when I asked why all my paperwork had AMA written in large block letters across the top. Ha. 

    This is my first and I’ll be turning 35 soon and since I’ll be well into 35 by the time of delivery I get this lovely term to go along with it :) 

    I did have a miscarriage before so that was of some concern but my first appt went very well and I’ve come to the place where worrying about what may or may not happen is not healthy for me or the baby so for now I’m embracing that term and taking it a day at a time!

    PS my bff just gave birth to her second a couple months ago. He was a complete surprise and she is 41 and he’s beautiful and healthy and she had zero complications although it was a planned c-section due to scar tissue from her first c-section. I’m sure you’ll be exact same and prove that age is just a number!
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  • Mine will be a planned C as well because my other 2 were, and I LOVED my Cs. I know that is abnormal. 


    My sister had had a baby at 35 and we enjoyed joking about the geriatric pregnancy, so it is funny to me, of was before it became me. Advanced maternal age is nicer. 

    Rumor has it we get some extra perks (like additional ultrasounds) which I am looking forward to!


  • This is my first and I'll be a month shy of 35 when I deliver...can I hang out in the shallow end here?
  • I'm turning 35 this month and I'm 6.5 weeks along right now. This is my 6th pregnancy, 5th child. 
    I am not having too many problems yet except for constipation and hemorrhoids but that's partly becuz of the progesterone my fertility doc put me on. 
    Also wanted to say.. my mom had 12 kids.. her last at 43. no complications! 
  • I’m 35, about to turn 36, and this was an unplanned pregnancy for my husband and I. We were content with our fur kids, but now I guess we will be adding one more to our family. It will be our first (and only) human kid 😉 My first appointment isn’t until 11/14, and I’m just over 7 weeks as of today 
  • I'm 37 and 6+3 with my third (and final) baby and I'll be 38 when baby is born. So far things are looking good. My grandmother had my mom at 43 with no problems, so I'm hoping those genes run in the family.
  • I'm 40 and pregnant with my fifth and final!  I'll be 41 when I deliver.  My OB doesn't even like the term AMA, he's pretty cool about it.  He figures that as long as you are healthy in general, it really doesn't matter much.
  • I will be 35 when i deliver. Planned first pregnancy (and only provided things go accordingly). Nervous about energy when the baby comes. I am tired without a kid lol.
  • @mackorori 100% with you on this and +1 for hating the term "geriatric pregnancy". I don't feel like I'm 75 and it really pisses me off when people act like I'm going to have a baby with "issues" just because I'm over 35. That kind of thinking is outdated and ignorant. Not sure if you read my post, but my mom was a surprise baby when my grandmother was 43. Women having babies in their late 30's and 40's isn't a new thing.
  • @ruby696 yep, my grandmother had children older too, they were just #s 7 and 8!
  • @mackorori Well put!  We went the IVF route after two losses; I know we could have most likely conceived naturally, but it could have taken a lot longer and may have resulted in more losses (like IVF cycle #1).  There are good eggs in there, it's just a lottery as to when they're going to get called up!
  • I think the term is hilarious. I feel like I should walk into the OB with a walker, trifocals and the classic old lady grey perm hair. 

    Glad to see I am not alone here! 

    @ki1244 The more the merrier!
  • @mackorori You just said what I was thinking! I only knew the AMA term; I hadn’t even heard “geriatric pregnancy” before. We tried for three years and had multiple losses with IVF, so having my first baby at 36 was not the way I intended to go. I told DH I will lose my ish if someone uses either one of those terms and i’ll be letting my OB know that at my first appointment. 

    @mandiedq That WOULD be hilarious, though!
  • Hello fellow AMA Mamma's, especially FTMs! I will be 35 when my little one arrives. I am currently 6+3 weeks, due June 28th. When I went in for my confirmation appointment the LPN was also making fun of the terms AMA and geriatric as she herself was pregnant and over 35! So far the only "extra perks" to being AMA is that insurance should cover the NIPT. Really wish I could get more U/S, but so far I am only scheduled for one in Feb and still 6 weeks out for my first official OB appointment.

    Since this is my first pregnancy, I really have no clue what to expect. It is an entirely new experience! I am grateful to be able the read the different boards, since my appointments are so far away, it is helpful to hear I am not alone. I almost still can't believe I am pregnant. I do have some symptoms, but they come and go and with no bump and no OB appointments it doesn't feel real yet.

  • Hi all, I could have sworn we had an AMA thread, but if not, it was definitely needed! I was 36 when I delivered my first. I'm now 40, we'll see if we are lucky with this one.
  • I'll be 37 when I deliver this one and my two children are both teenagers now. I'm pretty sure there was more than a bit of insanity involved on my part for thinking having another was a good idea.

    So far the doctor I've seen and all of the nurses made no comments about my age at all except to say that it would mean I should definitely do the genetic screening. Other than that things have been no different from when I did this in my early 20s. I'm sure later things may be different, and I probably won't escape without stretch marks this time, but I always thought the emphasis on being too old at 35+ was a bit overblown. 
  • I'll be 37 when I deliver this one and my two children are both teenagers now. I'm pretty sure there was more than a bit of insanity involved on my part for thinking having another was a good idea.
    I will have an 11 and 9 year old! We will have a lot to discussed over the next few months. My youngest is struggling hard. (This was unplanned.) Glad to heat I am not alone with the big age gap!
  • My oldest is high functioning autistic so he's not very demonstrative about it but the younger is trying to play it cool and not seem excited. She is looking forward to being able to babysit and be paid for it though.

    Hopefully you can find something to help your younger to look forward to about the baby. It's a big change, especially if it was a surprise.


  • My eldest will be 13 when this one arrives.  We have an age gap between what we call "the bigs" and "the littles".  At delivery, the kids will be 13, 10, 8.5, and 2.5.  It will be interesting, but I know my big guys will be excited!
  • @bakerstreetboys i dont have any other kids but your family reminds me of my cousins. There was like 2 waves of children my mom and her 7 siblings had. I was like 13 when the second wave came. So we are all split in our age groups. Plus my husband has 8 and 10 years difference between him and his siblings.
  • AMA first-time mom here: I'll be 35 at time of delivery. Due to age, my OB office is recommending a 3-phase "integrated" NIPT test, which combines two blood tests with the NT. I've never heard of or read about any of the NIPT tests requiring two blood screens before (one around 10-12 weeks, the other between 16-20), so it seems kind of strange to me.

    That's the only thing I've heard from them so far regarding my age, but the only appointment I've had was my "intake" appointment (which frankly was the most useless waste of time, but that's another story). I'll be interested to see if the actual midwife has any other warnings or opinions for me when I finally get to see her next week.
  • Hello fellow geriatrics! Quick question: when is your next appointment (the one after the intake/dating U/S and the genetic test if you are having one)? I had the CVS done yesterday at 11w2d and realized I don't have the next appointment scheduled.
  • @marija333 I am followed by my RE until 10 weeks, so it may be a bit different... however, my first appointment with my OB is at 10 weeks, at which point I'll get the requisition for the NIPT testing.  I'll see him again at 12 weeks for the NT u/s, and then probably not for another four weeks after that.  I was 38 with my DS, and he didn't see me any more frequently than he did his younger patients.  Unless there's a specific problem, he doesn't treat me any differently :)
  • @marija333 similar to what @bakerstreetboys said, my OB doesn’t treat the schedule any different being older, it’s basically every 4 weeks after the week 12 scan if you are doing that. If they have concerns they send you a MFM to get more specialized care. I was told by the NP to call if I feel like I need to come in-between for a “peace of mind” check and they will make it happen, which was awesome.
  • @mackorori That's awesome that they offered you a "peace of mind" check in option!  I will be asking about that :)
  • @mackorori that is really great that they offered you a check-in! Thanks to you and @bakerstreetboys for responding. I guess I can just sit back and relax for a bit. I can't remember anything from my first pregnancy. i know there's a big scan at 20 weeks, but can't remember when they do the GD test or anything else.
  • Aside from the extra screening at 12 weeks mine didn't seem to have any plans for me outside of the normal. Hopefully everything stays low risk and I can keep that up.

    My only concern is a past tendency towards preterm labor but even that wasn't an issue until around 7 months. I had crazy amounts of Braxton Hicks contractions and it was hard to tell the difference for me. If that starts again I might try to get appointments more often than every 3 weeks around then. 
  • Hello ladies!  I am pregnant with my 3rd.  All my pregnancies I have been “AMA”. 35, 37 and this one I’ll be 39.   This time, I am seeing a midwife and having my baby at a birthing center!  We at this point are opting out of the genetic testing
  • Hi! I'm 8 weeks today with our 2nd. Our daughter was born Sept '10 when I was 31 this one will be end of June and I'll be 40. My midwife didn't throw around the AMA too much at my fist appt last week. She is completely neutral on getting the 10 week DNA bloodwork. I'm on the fence but my husband wants it. Anyone else considering skipping all the extra tests/screenings?
  • smaed11smaed11 member
    edited November 2018
  • If it were just me I'd skip the extra screening but it will make my husband so much more relaxed about everything if we do it. I do draw the line at invasive testing though  
  • BababattyBababatty member
    edited November 2018
    @smaed11 Mercifully, my OB also didn’t even use the term “geriatric” or AMA, either. :-) The only time it came up was when she said, “Your insurance will pay for this because you’re 35” in regards to a test.

    As for the extra screenings, we weren’t given a choice. She just said, “I have all of my patients do these”—specifically as regards the NT and the DNA bloodwork that’s coming up. We tested our embryos and DH and I did our genetic carrier screening before IVF, so we thought we’d get out of at least those tests. It took us so long to conceive that I’m largely inclined to do whatever my OB thinks is best. But you should do whatever you’re most comfortable with.
  • I don’t mind the AMA or Geriatric phrases, I think they are kind of funny 🤷‍♀️ But at my first appointment last week, my OB referenced the AMA classification and said it’s 35 because before age 35 you are more likely to miscarry from undergoing amniocentesis than you are to be carrying a baby with Down’s syndrome. So an amniocentesis wasn’t really worth the risk for those under 35. But, she said at age 35 your odds of miscarrying from amniocentesis is about equal to your odds of carrying a baby with Down’s syndrome, so they created the age 35 cutoff as AMA because the risks equaled out. Anyway. You guys probably already knew that but I didn’t, and I found it interesting since this is my first pregnancy and I’ll be 36 next month 🤗
  • walking into my OB appointments like this: 

    haha!

    Hi Mama’s, 
    I’m 37 - conceived a few weeks after my birthday. We have 2 DD’s (April’15 & Feb’17) and this is definitely our last... mama’s tired! 
    1st ultrasound showed a wiggly little Junebug w/a HR of 164bpm. Dr says everything looks great 🙂 next appt where they’ll be taking all my blood is 11/26.  

    glad and to be surrounded by other awesome mama’s! 
  • @gopokes35 I did not know that! Thanks for sharing!
  • I’ll be 37 when I have this baby, my daughters will be 10&9. They are both excited to be big sisters to a new baby, and both are hoping for a brother. My only concern, I see the high risk doctor on the 10th for an ultrasound and the CFDNA test, but my regular OB thinks the high risk doctor will put me on a blood thinner (I had a DVT after my C with my youngest) and I’m not too thrilled with having to do that again...just hoping for a safe delivery. 
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