18-25
This age is considered ideal for the first pregnancy and childbirth, since the woman has a young and strong body, a large reserve of eggs and still little baggage of chronic diseases.
Of course, everything here is also strictly individual. Sometimes the body of a more mature woman can be healthier and stronger than that of a girl aged 18-25. Much depends on genetics, individual characteristics and lifestyle. However, if you look at the statistics, under the age of 25 years the risk of genetic pathologies in the fetus, as well as associated complications during pregnancy in the mother, is minimal.
Pregnancy before age 30 is the best option
According to studies conducted by Swedish scientists, the favorable period for motherhood is the age of up to 30 years. In their opinion, it is unwise to put off the first pregnancy, because it will be more difficult to get pregnant every year.
In a study of 30-34 year old women, it was found that problems during pregnancy are associated with age, and then excess weight and bad habits have an impact. The key to having a healthy baby is qualified pregnancy management. It helps reduce the risk of complications.
Since reproductive functions begin to gradually fade after the age of 25, gynecologists consider late childbirth dangerous to the health of the woman and baby. According to research from the English University of Newcastle, it has been established that disorders at the gene level, congenital defects (Down syndrome), appear in children of adult parents.
Social aspect Psychologists note that you need to plan your first pregnancy at the age of 30–35. Social reasons for late pregnancy are expressed in aspirations and depend on well-being. Ladies with ambition first achieve career success, and when they realize that they are ready to become mothers, the child becomes desired.
Early pregnancy
Who plans to get pregnant at 13-16 years old? Probably such girls don't exist. The partner has not yet matured either physically or psychologically. The partner does not have the means to support his family. All this negatively affects the psyche of the mother in labor; a prolonged stressful situation can harm the development of the embryo.
Pregnancy entails undesirable changes in the body, because the hormonal background is not fully formed, there is a lack of hormones responsible for the formation of placental tissue. Childbirth can be difficult. The girl is not even morally prepared for motherhood.
Pregnancy at a young age
Women under 25 years of age have all the physiological indications for pregnancy. In addition, before you turn 30 you can still have time to rest for 2-3 years and give birth to a second child. During this time, the body's functions will have time to recover, and the first baby will grow up a little.
Pregnancy at 35-40 years old
Previously, 25-year-old women who decided to become a mother for the first time were considered “aged primiparas.” Now the opinion of gynecologists has changed dramatically. Even 35-year-old pregnant women are not such a rarity today. Over the past decades, the number of women giving birth among women aged 35-39 has increased by 90%, and the number of young mothers over forty has increased by 87%. For such cases, more careful management of pregnancy is provided. It is managed in Nizhny Novgorod by first-class gynecologists.
Modern medicine can work miracles, but in any case, the first pregnancy in a middle-aged woman is associated with a certain risk. And it becomes more difficult to conceive a baby due to an increase in the number of non-ovulation cycles. It can be more difficult for the uterus to perceive the beginning of embryo development. There are cases of infertility.
25-35
Gone are the days when women who give birth after 25 were called old-timers. Nowadays, more and more women give birth to their first child at the age of 30 or older. And if the body is full of strength, the expectant mother feels good and has led a healthy lifestyle, the chances of giving birth to a healthy baby in this period of years are not much lower than before the age of 25. Fertility up to 35 years is still quite high, but it is better to plan your pregnancy more seriously, having checked your health and, if necessary, preparing the body for the upcoming pregnancy.
Of course, during pregnancy after 30, there is a higher chance of pregnancy complications and, in general, it may not be as easy as at 20. For example, there may be problems with blood pressure and swelling, and you will have to visit the doctor more often. But, again, everything is strictly individual and depends on the state of the body of each individual woman.
Up to 20 years
It is believed that you need to give birth when you are young. However, a young mother is not always a healthy mother. Childbirth in early, essentially teenage, age (its boundaries are defined as 10–19 years) is a serious test from both a physiological and psychological point of view.
pros
If a young girl has decided to give birth to a baby, then she has every chance to pass the pregnancy test with honor and become a wonderful mother of a wonderful child. In the end, the course of pregnancy and childbirth largely depends on the mother’s health, and in her youth the body has not yet accumulated a large number of “sores,” including chronic ones. Pregnancy complications may (or may not) occur at any age, and it is not a fact that a young, active and vigorous mother will face serious problems. In youth, any problems are generally easier to overcome.
Of course, it is very important that the girl is supported by her loved ones, the baby’s father, and that experienced doctors are nearby - and then everything will be successful. But a small difference in age with the child will allow the mother to be much closer to him psychologically, to understand his aspirations and needs, to actually belong to the same generation, and therefore to speak the same language.
Minuses
Until the age of 20, the organs and systems of the female body are still “shaking”; the hormonal and reproductive systems are immature. Pregnancy often entails complications - toxicosis, gestosis, anemia. There are also not enough hormones - estrogen, progesterone, so there may be problems with the formation of the placenta. Often pregnancy ends in premature birth.
In 15% of young girls, an anatomically narrow pelvis and underdevelopment of the muscular layer of the uterus are diagnosed. Because of this, childbirth can also be difficult.
Another factor makes young expectant mothers worry. A baby at this age is not always born as a result of a thoughtful decision, in a harmonious family. Sometimes pregnancy is accompanied by infections, because young women rarely think about contraception. This, as well as ongoing puberty, causes girls to react violently to experiences and stress.
Psychological immaturity makes it difficult to enjoy pregnancy; the baby may also be born excitable and make the young mother nervous in the first years of life.
35-40
After 35, fertility declines and it can be more difficult to get pregnant on your own. In addition, the course of pregnancy is already influenced by a woman’s previous lifestyle, and chronic diseases can also complicate it. In general, after 35, pregnancy can bring surprises in the form of complications such as hypertension and diabetes. In addition, the risk of having a child with genetic pathologies increases.
The health and lifestyle of a woman at this age - chronic diseases, stress, bad habits, sports, excess weight, etc. - have a great influence on how pregnancy will proceed.
Pregnancy at the age of 20–29 years
Possible difficulties Expectant mothers of this age can hope for a minimal risk of serious abnormalities in the fetus and complications during childbirth. And to get pregnant, a woman 20–29 years old needs, on average, 3 to 6 months.
Development forecasts The optimal age for pregnancy is considered to be the period from 20 to 29 years. The development of the body has already been completed, the hormonal background has been established, the ovaries are most often still healthy, and the vaginal and uterine muscles are elastic. By the age of 29, many have already achieved a certain stability in work in order to take a break for maternity leave. Some expectant mothers hope for help from relatively young parents who will help raise their baby.
40+
Pregnancy after 40 is difficult, but possible. The difficulty is that by this age the body’s reserves are already exhausted, the biography of the reproductive organs already has a long history, and the more problems it had, for example, inflammatory diseases, interrupted pregnancies, etc., the more difficult it can be to get pregnant.
In addition, by this age changes already occur in the tissues of the reproductive organs, and the muscles lose elasticity, which is why childbirth can be more difficult and traumatic. Typically, after 40, the percentage of cesarean sections increases; giving birth naturally can be more difficult.
As for fetal pathologies, after 40 a child with Down syndrome is born on average once every 106 cases, after 45 - once every 30 cases.
What is the conclusion? Planning a pregnancy should be taken seriously at any age, and age in itself is far from a death sentence. Thanks to modern medicine, early diagnosis of fetal pathologies and high-quality preparation for pregnancy is possible even at a late age. Our center’s specialists will be happy to help you plan the birth of your child and advise you on all related issues.
Age for pregnancy
Is there an ideal age to get pregnant?
Statistics say that as a woman ages, her chances of conceiving and giving birth to a healthy child become less and less. However, the number of pregnant women aged 30 and older is increasing. What age is optimal for motherhood?
pregnancy planning
The term “old-timer” is gradually becoming a thing of the past, and those who are curious do not condemn, but to a certain extent even admire the courage of women who decide to become pregnant at a late age. And in maternity hospitals you can see very young women in labor less and less often. The average age of most expectant mothers is 25–27 years.
When should you plan a pregnancy so that women’s “biological clock” does not lag behind and is not in a hurry? Doctors do not risk making categorical statements on this matter, but prefer to divide a woman’s age into four periods regarding the ability to conceive and carry a pregnancy.
3 facts about the threat of miscarriage When planning the birth of a child, it is important to know that the risk of miscarriage increases with the age of the expectant mother:
- in 25–30 years – 1 in 1,250 cases;
- by 35 years – 1 in 378 cases;
- by 40–45 years – 1 in 30 cases.
Early pregnancy
Pregnancy that occurs at an early age is often fraught with very unfavorable consequences. In this case, the younger the girl, the higher the likelihood of miscarriage, bleeding and toxicosis.
Early motherhood is dangerous for both the young mother and the baby. Children are often born with low body weight, they do not adapt well to external conditions, and they gain weight worse.
Naturally, every woman’s body is individual, and the birth of a completely healthy child is possible even before the age of twenty. A young woman’s body may be physiologically quite ready for pregnancy and subsequent childbirth without any complications. However, there are other circumstances that should be taken into account. For example, is the girl psychologically ready, does she have the necessary knowledge to raise a child, does she have the financial means to provide for his needs?
Pregnancy planning. Part I
Medicine is developing very quickly. Today we have learned to perform real miracles - we nurse 500-gram babies, we transfuse blood into the intrauterine fetus, we extract premature babies in the entire amniotic sac. But, alas, we are still unimaginably far from being absolute wizards. But much more depends on future parents responsibly planning their pregnancy than might be expected at first glance.
Young, stupid or careless mothers are unlikely to ever read such texts. It is almost impossible to explain to them that when a fetus suffers in utero, you at least do not hear it screaming, crying and moaning. How a mother’s heart breaks when her child is sick, and even if she is seriously ill, she is ready to give everything just to stop this nightmare.
But it is important to understand that a healthy child is not the merit of the doctor. At least in most cases. A healthy child means healthy parents, a healthy lifestyle and good luck. In today's conditions, this combination is extremely rare. Humanity lives in big cities, goes to bed after midnight, eats not the healthiest food, breathes not the cleanest air.
Our species continues to develop in complex civilizational conditions, and natural selection is still strong. It is not without reason that the problem of undeveloped pregnancies, recurrent miscarriage and infertility does not leave the top lists of major international and all-Russian congresses of obstetricians and gynecologists.
Unfortunately, there is no recipe that, if carefully followed, will guarantee a healthy child. There are only traditional, boring recommendations for leading a healthy lifestyle. This at least avoids obvious harm to the health of the fetus.
Pregnancy must be desired and planned
There is a big difference between the states “I got pregnant” and “I got pregnant.” Those who get knocked up simply don’t have time to fix any problems. The “planners” have such time, but how do they use it?
— My husband and I have been planning a pregnancy for six months now — Sounds great. What exactly are you doing? How are you planning your pregnancy?
This is where options appear. Someone simply lives a sexual life, having stopped using protection. Someone, having scoured the entire Internet, compiled a special schedule of sexual intercourse to make a boy. Someone greets the morning with a thermometer in the rectum, lovingly drawing a curve of basal temperature and calculating the right day for intercourse. And, unfortunately, very few do what is really necessary. So where to start planning your pregnancy?
Immediate smoking cessation
There is a very serious and large-scale study that has proven that in order not to really harm the fetus, the last cigarette should be smoked at least 12 months before conception. Strictly speaking, you don’t have to wait 12 months, and you should quit smoking immediately after the decision to “have a baby” has been made. The options “when I get pregnant, then I’ll quit” are unsafe.
There are no safe doses of alcohol
Fetal alcohol syndrome is an incurable disease. Even a mild form of FAS in the fetus leads to the development of serious problems in the child. Unfortunately, children with FAS are not only born to alcoholics. Children with FAS are born into the most ordinary socially prosperous families. A risk group for women's general health is consuming 4 or more standard doses per week. 1 dose - 340 g of 5% beer, 141.75 g of 11% wine or 42.53 g of 40% vodka or cognac.
For pregnant women and women planning pregnancy, drinking any amount of alcohol is risky. Even if you drank a little during your previous pregnancy, but the baby was born healthy, there is no guarantee that all subsequent children are immune from developing FAS.
Optimization of work and rest regimes
The toughest recommendation these days! I had several pregnant women who continued to manage the business, even while in the gynecological chair, sitting at the computer with project reports days and nights on the eve of giving birth. Emotional overload, a state of chronic stress, lack of sleep are a terrible background for pregnancy; this period of life generally does not combine well with a feat of labor. Of course, one can only dream about the physiological course of pregnancy and childbirth in such patients.
Remember the old rhyme we learned in English lessons: “Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy wealthy and wise”? Early to get up, early to bed - an ideal recommendation at the pre-conception stage. Our body produces hormones at a certain time - around 4 o'clock in the morning. Let your body work calmly, you’ll see, and you won’t have to “plan” with a thermometer for four years.
Balanced diet
It is impossible to see two lines on the test and immediately start eating right. You should think about and change your eating style before pregnancy. It is especially important to take care of this issue for women who are obese or underweight. Vegetarians and women with milk intolerance need to compensate for iron and calcium deficiency before conception.
You should not consume more than 300 mg of caffeine per day. One cup of instant coffee contains about 75 mg of caffeine, a cup of coffee beans (100 ml) contains 100 mg, a cup of tea contains 50 mg, 50 g of chocolate contains 50 mg, and a glass of cola contains 40 mg.
Regular moderate-intensity physical activity
Even if you have never exercised or played sports, it's time to start. Pregnancy and childbirth place quite high demands on a woman’s body, the condition of her back and abdominal muscles. But it is better to limit the passion for risky and extreme species. Even if parkour and snowboarding are your middle names, and bungee jumping is your usual pastime, it’s worth trying just swimming in the pool or doing yoga. Of course, there is no adrenaline, but you will have to be patient a little.
Eliminate the effects of harmful factors at home and at work
If you are building a house or doing renovations, you should not become a foreman, carry building materials on your back, breathe in nitro paint and other joys of repair and construction. If you are a good housewife who strives for perfect cleanliness, do not forget to wear gloves when washing plumbing fixtures and walls. You shouldn't lock yourself inside the shower stall to achieve the perfect shine. Our usual household chemicals can be quite toxic, so remember to take precautions and ventilate the premises well.
Recommendations for future dads
The optimal rhythm of sexual relations for conception is 2-3 times a week. A pause of 2–4 days allows you to maintain spermatogenesis in an active state, the sperm do not stagnate and are fast enough to march through the fallopian tubes.
Alcohol, drugs and certain medications should be excluded.
Mother Nature put men's testicles in a cooler bag for a reason. The scrotum allows you to maintain the optimal temperature for healthy spermatogenesis. This is why heated seats, tight-fitting pants and underwear are so undesirable.
Those with a “beer belly” should urgently work on their waistline; hormonal imbalances occur not only in women.
- Is that all? But what about basal temperature, healing from ureaplasma, folic acid, a ban on sauna and massage, husband’s spermogram and ovulation tests?
This, of course, is not all. But this is the most important and difficult part of prenatal preparation, everything else is a matter of technique... Technique, which I will talk about in the next article.
Oksana Bogdashevskaya
Photo thinkstockphotos.com
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Pregnancy at the age of 30–35 years
Possible difficulties Pregnancy of 30–35 years in most cases is complicated by various threats: placenta previa, increased uterine tone, bleeding and other negative manifestations.
Development forecasts A woman’s moral and physical readiness for motherhood helps to overcome difficulties, because with age, the attitude towards health becomes more serious. There are more and more expectant mothers over the age of 30. Women deliberately postpone motherhood for this time, because almost all of them are already fully realized professionally and financially. They perceive the birth of a child with great joy.
At what age is it better to have your first child?
Most doctors consider the optimal age for motherhood to be between 20 and 30 years. For each specific woman, the ideal age comes at a different time, but absolutely everyone has a decrease in the number of eggs and their quality over the years. The reason for this is poor ecology, poor nutrition, bad habits and other factors. But women do not have the opportunity to improve the quality of biomaterial through diet and a healthy lifestyle, unlike men. You need to remember this when postponing adding to the family indefinitely.
Employees of the Erasmus University of Rotterdam (Rotterdam, the Netherlands) have been studying information about pregnancy and childbirth for over 58 thousand women for 30 years. As a result, a table was obtained that helps determine the ideal age for the birth of the first child, depending on the expected number of subsequent children - a “fertility calculator”.
According to this calculator, a woman who wants three children would best have her first at 23. Mothers who plan to have two children can have their first a little later - up to 27 years of age. Well, you can give birth to an only child at 30 years old.
