By Shalayne Pulia, Instyle
From Amal Clooney's twins to the Kardashian Klan's baby boom, our favorite celebrities are getting pregnant at almost every age, and they're not alone. According to a CDC study
published earlier this year, the number of women conceiving in their
early 40s has gone up about 19 percent in the past decade. Even so, age
35 reigns supreme as the medically ideal age to have baby, according to
the study.
[post_ads_2]
We did a little digging to find out what some of the
benefits could be to having children at what's considered the optimal
age and waiting past age 35 (considered "advanced maternal age").
According to, Dr. Thomas Molinaro,
a reproductive endocrinology and infertility specialist at the
Reproductive Medicine Associates of New Jersey, mothers who choose to
have their children between ages 20 to 35 are more likely to have a
healthy, easy pregnancy.
Teens are at risk of complications like premature
delivery and low birth weight, though according to Dr. Molinaro, “it's
unclear whether that has to do with just being younger or some of the
socio-economic factors that come into play during teenage pregnancy
(maybe they're not taking care of themselves the same way, they're not
going to prenatal care, and other things like that).”
Choosing to have your first child in the "advanced
maternal age" bracket, which Dr. Molinaro agrees is "a terrible name for
any clarification,” could complicate a pregnancy with low birth weight,
early delivery, or giving birth to a baby with chromosomal issues due
to the higher likelihood that older women could have diabetes or high
blood pressure. “Even a healthy 45-year-old is going to have a harder
pregnancy than a healthy 25-year-old.”
[post_ads_2]
We also caught up with Dr. Mary Jane Minkin,
the Clinical Professor of OBGYN at Yale, to talk about pregnancy. She
said a big reason women generally have trouble getting pregnant after
age 35 has to do with ovulation: “Unfortunately we do start seeing a
slowdown in many women's ovulatory activities: how well they've
ovulating, how well they're making an egg and releasing it.”
That said, Dr. Molinaro insists that getting pregnant
over the age of 35 is still possible, especially with the help of IVF
treatments. “For most women, the sweet spot for IVF is between 35 and
42, meaning that we do best with patients in that age group,” Dr.
Molinaro told InStyle.
Dr. Minkin also said that waiting could have many
benefits for a woman’s life, especially now that women are putting their
careers first, climbing the academic ladder, and waiting to get settled
into relationships. “There aren't too many women who are say, president
of Chase Manhattan Bank by age 30,” Minkin said. “From a biological
perspective, someone in her late teens, early 20's, would be most
fertile, but of course many women at that point aren't ready to have a
kid. It’s a balance between a woman's physical maturity and what's going
on in her life.”
[post_ads]Likelihoods aside, Dr. Molinaro believes that proper
prenatal care and seeking the advice of an obstetrician who can help
manage your pregnancy are very important factors to successful family
planning. If women experience painful periods, irregular periods, have a
history of cancer treatment or surgery to the ovaries, then going to a
reproductive specialist sooner rather than later could make the
difference in getting pregnant. “There is no set answer for everybody,”
Dr. Molinaro said. “And it’s important that each woman has the
opportunity to tell her story and evaluate her situation to make the
decision that’s best for her.”
Pre-existing health conditions coupled with age can
be determining factors when figuring out a woman’s likelihood for
successfully getting pregnant. For example, women who smoke are more
likely to have ovulation issues and women who are obese are more likely
to experience other pregnancy issues.
As a first gauge, Dr. Minkin suggested doing an
at-home ovulation predictor test or ovarian reserve test to help with
initial understanding of your body’s ability to get pregnant. “These
tests are pretty accurate and you can get a first approximation of are
you ovulating well? Are you ovulating on time? Is your ovarian reserve
good? All these things, which you can do at home, will give you some
extra information, rather than just your age or just your health status,
as far as thinking about pregnancy.”
