Terrified of risks being of AMA

[Anonymous]

I had 2 kids after 35. One is fine, and one has Down syndrome. It’s rare, but it can happen. You are already pregnant, so any chromosomal abnormalities are already there. I urge you to get some kind of testing. Most likely, it will give you peace of mind. If you do get a bad result, it gives you options: either to terminate or to prepare for a child with special needs. For what it’s worth, I have no regrets about having my child with Down syndrome. Obviously no one wants their kid to be disabled, but while there are definitely challenges, our lives are much happier than you might imagine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had 4 kids between 35 and 41. They’re fine. Don’t be so stressed about this.

Wow amazing strength and stamina mama! I’m on my 3rd pregnancy and I don’t think I can do this again. Granted I have HG with all my pregnancies which is brutal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had my 1st at 25 and 2nd at 28. I am shockingly pregnant again at 35! I keep reading about all the increased risks to both me and baby. I guess there's nothing I can really do, but what are my odds of having a healthy baby at 35?

No offense but you seem fairly uninformed. Yes, some risks are higher - do the testing for the things you can like the NIPT. But tons and tons and tons of women have babies at or above 35. Many of them extremely highly educated. In fact, I bet highly educated women are the majority of older moms bc they delay motherhood due to education and career. So no they aren’t all having unhealthy babies. And certainly you could be totally fine during the pregnancy. I had my first at 39 and had a flawlessly healthy pregnancy but I was healthy going into it.

+1. Plus, this was super normal even back in the day. Tons of families would have an "oops" or a not oops in their 30s after having had kids earlier in the their 20s. And even further back, women bore children pretty much continuously from their early 20s (or earlier) until their late 30s or early 40s. And many of them were just fine. Add in modern medicine and monitoring and there is really not much to be worried about. Especially at 35, not 42.

You'll get the usual tests that will tell you if there are chromosomal issues. If there are not, then it should be pretty reasonable sailing. Sure, you are older and you may feel more fatigue or have a harder time bouncing back this time, but it is unlikely to be objectively risky.