Becoming pregnant at the age of 50 or older: unthinkable or unfeasible for many women. Yet it often happens that older women also become pregnant naturally and even give birth to a healthy child. What are the pros and cons of pregnancy later in life?

The chance of pregnancy after the age of 50

A woman is most fertile between the ages of 18 and 26. After the age of 35, a woman’s fertility declines. There is clearly a difference in percentages. A 20-year-old woman has a 20 to 25 percent chance of becoming pregnant every month. Between the ages of 22 and 30, that chance is 15 percent per month. At the age of 38 you still have a 5 percent chance of becoming pregnant every month.After the age of 45, the chances of becoming pregnant naturally are very small. Yet it often happens that a woman aged fifty or older becomes pregnant naturally.

Benefits of getting pregnant after 50

Women who want to become pregnant at an older age often consciously choose to do so. It can be a real shock for women who accidentally become pregnant. Yet these women also choose to carry the pregnancy to term more often than younger mothers who have become pregnant unintentionally.At this age, many women have much more financial security than their younger counterparts. Women over the age of fifty are also much more patient with small children. They are able to solve problems more easily and admit their mistakes. At work or at home they do not feel the pressure to perform: this means that these women can often deal with daily matters much more calmly.

Disadvantages of late pregnancy

Of course, there are also disadvantages to pregnancy after the age of fifty. First of all, the medical part: the chance of having a child with a defect is many times greater in an older woman than in a young woman. This has to do with the quality of the eggs, which deteriorates drastically after the age of 35. A 20-year-old woman has a low chance of having a child with Down syndrome: 1 in 1,000. At the age of 40, the chance is 1 in 78. At the age of 50, the chance is 1 in 4. This means that for every four pregnant women over the age of 50, one woman will have a child with Down syndrome. The chance of having a healthy child is and remains many times greater.The chance of miscarriage also increases with age. This has to do with the poorer quality of the eggs, but also due to the less effective functioning of the hormones. Until the age of 35, the chance of miscarriage is 10 percent. After the age of 40, the chance of miscarriage increases to 40 percent.Another disadvantage, or for some an advantage, is the greater chance of a multiple pregnancy. Women aged 20 have a 1 in 100 chance of having twins. For women over 40 years old, this is 1 in 70. The mortality rate for a twin pregnancy is seven times higher than for a normal pregnancy.An older pregnant woman is also more likely to be hospitalized during pregnancy. This is related to a higher incidence of high blood pressure and gestational diabetes. Deliveries in older women are also often assisted by an induction or a caesarean section.

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A young woman with a big belly: everyone immediately asks if she is pregnant. But an older woman with a big belly is mistaken for a woman with a belly of food. Hardly anyone realizes that a woman aged 50 or older can also be pregnant.Women over 50 with young children are automatically grandmothers: that’s how the outside world sees it. T he schoolyard quickly assumes that grandma is coming to pick up or drop off her grandchild. It is sometimes difficult to combat these prejudices. It is often also thought that one does an injustice to the child by becoming pregnant at an older age. After all, the child will soon have a “grandmother” as a mother. This is partly correct: the average life expectancy for a woman is 82 years. A woman who has a child at the age of 50 will often have to leave her child behind at a young age. Sometimes earlier due to admission to a nursing home. On the other hand, a 30-year-old child will have been able to stand on his own two feet for a long time. Moreover, even for young mothers, it is never possible to predict what the future will bring.