Pregnancy After 35: Should You Try To Have A Baby After 35?

It used to be that women would practically start having babies straight after high school, or at some point in their early to mid-twenties. Now a days many women are choosing to wait later and later to become a mother and start a family. Women today are deciding to put motherhood on the back burner for several reasons including starting a career, concentrating on their relationship, wanting to travel or pursue a degree and achieving financial independence.

The later a woman decides to become pregnant the more difficulties she will encounter in trying to conceive. At birth a woman is born with approximately 1 to 2 million eggs she will have in her lifetime. Unlike men who are able to produce fresh sperm for practically their whole life every day. Men do not face the ticking biological clock the same as a woman.

Once a woman reaches 30 her eggs start to slowly decline. After 35 the quality and number of eggs begins dropping farther. At 40 and above her eggs begin deteriorating at an even faster pace.

Having a baby later in life in your late thirties and even possibly early 40's is not impossible, but it is not as easy as in your 20's. Women should be made aware of how difficult it is instead of assuming just because they are healthy and fit they should be able to conceive at any age.

The older a woman waits to conceive a child the more problems will arise in that pregnancy. A number of complications are more apt to happen in older women:

♦ Miscarriage
♦ Placenta previa
♦ Fetal distress
♦ C-section
♦ High blood pressure
♦ Ectopic pregnancy
♦ Diabetes
♦ Low birth weight
♦ Premature labor
♦ Down syndrome
♦ Asphyxia
♦ Sill birth
♦ Brain bleeds

There are a few considerations you need to think about before trying to get pregnant at this stage in life. Have you thought of how old you will be when your child is say a teenager? Will you be able to handle the demands and have enough energy? Will your health hold up?

Most women don't fully think down the road to when they will be in their 50's when their child is growing up as a teen. Raising a teenager can put a great amount of stress and pressure on you. Just be sure you will be able to withstand parenting a high energy and sometimes high demand teen.

Another consider to take note of is that women between the ages of 35 to 39 are far more likely to give birth to twins than any other age group. The reason for this is because your hormone levels are increasing resulting in multiple eggs being released during your cycle. Are you prepared to not only mother one child but possibly two?

I believe it is a woman's personal choice to when she wants to become a mother. I became a mother the first time around at age 29, almost 30 and again at 39. I think that a woman who is near 40 can have a baby, just as long as she takes extra good care of herself and well into her later years.

If you are 35 or older and are thinking about trying to conceive a baby there are a few things you should be doing to ensure that you do conceive and that your pregnancy is healthy.

♦ First thing make an appointment with your doctor for a checkup
♦ Take prenatal vitamins
♦ Before taking any herbal supplements or medicine consult with your doctor
♦ Don't drink alcohol
♦ Don't smoke
♦ Don't do drugs
♦ Exercise every day during before, during and after your pregnancy
♦ Eat healthy foods
♦ Be sure to gain a proper healthy amount of weight for your pregnancy

Infertility becomes more of a problem as a woman gets older. If you have been consistently trying, this means 2 to 3 times a week, to conceive a baby for six months with no success you should make an appointment with your doctor. 85% of most couples will conceive a baby within a year after stopping using birth control. For those who don't get pregnant that first year, half of those women will go on to become pregnant the following. By the time a woman is 38, 77% of women become pregnant within three years.

If you are struggling to conceive you should look into reading the book titled, "Take Charge Of Your Fertility". It has a wealth of great information about fertility and teaches the Fertility Awareness Method which has helped many women who were having fertility problems to conceive.

Read more on how the Fertility Awareness Method can help you become pregnant.

Hopefully if your period is late and you exhibit other pregnancy symptoms than you will be with baby. Here are a few common symptoms of pregnancy to look for:

♦ Implantation bleeding - This happens anywhere from 6 to 12 days after the egg has been fertilized. A woman will experience mild menstrual like cramping along with spotting blood. Some women have been known to think this is the onset of their period when actually they was pregnant.
♦ White, milky discharge from your vulva
♦ Changes in breasts becoming swollen, tingly and sore
♦ The areola may darken
♦ Fatigue, tired and just feeling run down with no energy
♦ Nausea and/or vomitting
♦ Missing your period
♦ Frequent urination
♦ Constipation
♦ Moody and irritable
♦ Headaches
♦ Back pain
♦ Dizzy and faint

Not all women will experience all these symptoms. Some will only experience just a few while others could experience most if not all of these. For myself when I was pregnant with my oldest son, the only two symptoms I experienced was a missing period and the constant feeling of fatigue and just overall feeling run down. With my youngest, I felt extremely nauseous to the point of not being able to hardly stomach eating anything as well as a late period.

If you feel there is a chance of pregnancy get yourself a pregnancy test to be sure. If the test comes out negative and you still have not received your period than try taking another test in a few days.

If the pregnancy test is positive you should make an appointment for your doctor to test you and to start giving you prenatal care for you and your baby.

Pregnancy after 35 is definitely achievable and many women are proof of that including myself. Don't give up if you are trying to get pregnant. Sometimes when you least expect it a miracle will happen.