Having a Baby at 40: Benefits, Risks, and What to Expect

Having a baby at 40 - The number of women who have shifted their child birth cycle from the early thirties to early forties has been exponential is the past few years. Most of this can be attributed to changing lifestyle preferences aligned at pursuing high-string careers and achieving financial stability. It can also be attributed to the fact that child birth after 40 now doesn't bear many complications and repercussion thanks to advancement in medical technology that understands the biological clock and has found out ways to take care of the challenges that come with it. Here you can understand risk for pregnancy after 40.

Having a Baby at 40: Benefits, Risks, and What to Expect

Is it selfish to have a baby at 40? Research indicates that older women are able to carry pregnancies and deliver babies equally as well as younger women. Also Read: How to clean the ears?

Pros and Cons of Having a Baby At 40

However, delaying child birth has its own pros and cons of having a child at 40, are mentioned below:

Advantages of waiting to have Children:

There are some definite benefits to becoming a parent when you're older:

• You're more experienced and have had the chance to get to know your partner in a variety of circumstances, leading to a solid foundation for raising a family
• You are financially stable and won't give in to the financial binding that comes along with child birth
• You tend to make wiser parenting decisions and healthier nutritional choices
• You don't give in to stress of parenting and don't get anxious

Disadvantages of waiting to have Children:

Most of the disadvantages of delaying pregnancy happen due to medical conditions and body's biological clock.

• It will be difficult to get pregnant. This is because your egg supply decreases significantly as you age, and the quality of egg also gets poorer which may lead to chromosomal problems, increases the chances of miscarriage and birth defects. "There's a sharp decline in fertility in the 40s.
• It will be a difficult pregnancy. The chances of developing other health conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, placental problems and birth complications are very high.
• Higher risk of a small or preterm baby. Women aged 40 years and above are more likely to deliver low-birth-weight, preterm baby or stillbirth.
• Poor quality of sperm as its quality deteriorates with age. This may lead to higher rate of genetic defects than younger men's sperm.

Also Read: Special Care For Babies With Low Birth WeightHowever, despite both pros and cons of planning your child around 40s, it is good to know that there are many advanced medical technology advancement to support your decision like cutting-edge IVF technology. It is essential to understand that irrespective of your age, your overall health is vital to take this decision.  A healthy 40 plus woman with no medical history and good physical shape is likely to have a pregnancy as normal as a younger woman. All you need to understand is while the decision to delay your pregnancy is always a personal choice, seeking advice from your gynaecologist is very vital and should be considered carefully before you take the leap. I hope you understand now about Pros and Cons of Having a Baby At 40.