March 28, 2024

Do not delay pregnancy – your age affects the health of a child

“Here in a couple of years will be his own home, and we will certainly give birth! ” – assures her beloved husband. “You’re already 25, it’s time to think about children! ” – exclaims the caring mother.

“The first thing – a career, and you can give birth in forty,” – says a sensible colleague. But it’s not for the husband, not the mother, not the colleague, but the woman that relatives, friends, television and social advertising are pressing on all sides today.

Some believe that it is necessary to give birth, while the body is young and strong, while others say that it is necessary to leave the office as a minimum of the head of the department. Who is right in this dispute and what age is considered optimal for the conception of a healthy baby, the correspondent of SE explained.

A girl who by the age of 25 did not have a family and did not give birth to a child was considered a hopeless old maid 10 years ago in Russia, and doctors added the term “old-timer” to this definition. But life is changing, and today, according to official statistics, in our country, women who gave birth to the first child at 30, three times more than twenty years ago. The reasons for this may be different, but are more often associated with social conditions: each woman dreams of giving birth to a healthy baby and giving him everything necessary, and therefore taking care of material well-being causes expectant mothers to postpone pregnancy. In addition, the result of recent studies in the West has been a shift in the age at which a woman is considered to be “old-timer” by the age of 28.

However, some experts are still confident,

“Despite the fact that every year in our clinic there are more and more patients who decided to give birth to the first child after 30, the age from 20 to 25 years is still optimal for the first birth,” says the chief doctor of the clinic Professor Pasman, obstetrician-gynecologist Lyudmila Gorenkov.

– By this time, the body is fully ripe in order to successfully transfer the pregnancy and give birth to a healthy baby, and at the same time the reverse processes do not have time to start. ”

For any woman, pregnancy and childbirth are not an easy test, during this period all kinds of diseases become aggravated. And with the age of such diseases it becomes more and more. For example, if at 20 years the reaction to stress becomes a decrease in pressure, then by the age of 35 the risk of hypertensive reaction increases, which is very bad for the fetus.

“Of course, a young mother can have all the same health problems as an older woman,” says Lyudmila Gorenkova, “but the young organism copes with them faster and easier, the risk that the disease will affect the fetus is lower. In addition, as a woman ages, changes in the body take place, including those related to the menstrual cycle, which can lead to problems with pregnancy. ”

In the inheritance

Lyudmila Gorenkova notes that a child born after 28 years is considered to be late. At the same time, many experts are sure that an adult mother is able to give her baby much more than a young mother. As a rule, for a more mature woman, the decision to give birth is completely conscious, she is psychologically and, importantly, financially ready for motherhood, attentive to her health, carefully follows the advice of a doctor.

The point of view that the optimal age of a woman for the first birth does not stop at 25, and geneticists also share. Although the biggest fears of “age” pregnancy cause genetic pathologies, namely the risk of developing Down’s disease, the geneticist of the Center for Family Planning and Reproduction Natalia Melnik is sure that if at 35 the future parents are healthy and have passed all the necessary examinations, their chance to give birth to a healthy the child is no less than the younger.

“From the point of view of genetics, the age of a woman from 20 to 35 years is optimal for the birth of the first child,” the doctor assures. – The probability of developing chromosomal abnormalities in the fetus is indeed higher after 35 years, but by a fraction of a percent. If a woman plans a pregnancy later, she needs to visit with a prospective father in advance a geneticist to discuss all possible problems and, if necessary, undergo a survey. ”

Consultation with a geneticist is also necessary because the risk of giving birth to a child with Down’s syndrome is high not only in women over 35 years old, but also in healthy girls born to them after this age. After all, all eggs in a woman are pawned in utero, and the daughter of the “age-old” mother is at increased risk of reproductive harm. Therefore, a visit to a specialist will be a concern not only for the future of your child, but also for the health of future generations.

Male influence

Although the mother’s age is the greatest value for the health of the future baby, one should not forget about the age of the father. “If the future father is more than 45 years old, this is also an indication for visiting a geneticist. Even if the mother is only 20, the risk of chromosomal anomalies increases, “- says Natalia Melnik.

This advice is especially relevant in connection with the growing number of unequal marriages, when girls under 25 marry men much older than them. In this case, according to experts, the mother’s youth can not compensate for the maturity of the father.
“Clearly indicate the age range, after which the future parents need a geneticist consultation, can be so: after 35 years for women and after 45 years for men.

In this case, if a girl is 20 and a man is 40, we certainly recommend a visit to a geneticist, but this is not an absolute indication, “says Natalya Melnik. – Besides, going to the doctor does not mean that some complicated diagnosis or treatment will be prescribed. Parents undergo a series of tests, and only in case of serious abnormalities, we recommend certain procedures. In this case, the woman herself has the right to decide whether she will undergo treatment before pregnancy, and the doctor can only tell about genetic risks and prescribe treatment. ”

When deciding on future pregnancy, it is important to remember that the main thing is the maturity of the decision and the internal readiness for motherhood. And with the help of modern medicine, it is possible to identify possible risks in 40 years, and in 20 to cope with depression over a delayed career.

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