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Why you should have that baby now now
FILE | NATION. More women are dedicating their most fertile years to career and education
Until a couple of years ago, a young woman’s goal was to get married, have children, and then live happily ever after. Not anymore. Today, finding a 25-year-old woman looking to settle down and raise children is almost as difficult as finding a needle in haystack.
The last thing women in their late twenties and early thirties want to do is to tie themselves down to the restricting ‘job’ that is marriage and to the hard work that is raising children. They figure that they can have these later after they have cemented their careers and sampled the joys of single life. As a result, a significant number of women are opting to have children after 35.
Unfortunately, time waits for no man, as they say. Delaying childbearing has consequences, one of these being that as women grow older, it becomes difficult to conceive.
After 30, fertility starts to gradually go downhill. After 35, the ride down the slope accelerates, and it starts getting very difficult to conceive. Or carry a full-term pregnancy.
Unlike men whose bodies create sperm throughout the lives, women are born with a finite number of eggs. Every month, a percentage of a woman’s eggs are lost to attrition. By the time a woman hits the mid 40s, the total number of eggs has diminished and the quality of many of the remaining ones is poor.
Worth noting is that older eggs have more genetic abnormalities that limit the chance for pregnancy, or which result in an abnormal embryo, which is destined to miscarry.
According to a study published in Postgraduate Obstetrics & Gynaecology, 10 percent of women below 35 years are likely to suffer a miscarriage. Between 38 and 40 years, the risk doubles. Thirty percent of those between 41 and 42 years are likely to lose the pregnancy and after 42, she joins the 37% who are likely to miscarry.
You also have to bear in mind that the risk of medical conditions such as diabetes and hypertension increases with age, particularly after 40. As you grow older, the risks of other disorders that may adversely affect fertility, such as fibroids and tubal disease also increase.
Although older women do have healthy pregnancies and deliver healthy babies, as with all pregnancies, these women, and the babies they’re nurturing, do face unique risks, such as increased risk for stillbirths or preterm labour and preterm birth, prolonged or more difficult labour and/or cesarean birth as well as a risk for having a low-birth weight baby.
If you plan to have a child later, it is important to take care of yourself by living and eating healthy, since might lengthen the lifespan of your ovaries. The fact is that diet plays a role in the occurrence of early menopause. Cigarette smoking is also one of the most common and important factors that has been found to reduce ovarian reserve.
Other causes of declining fertility are ovarian atrophy, which tends to occur after chemotherapy or radiotherapy treatment.
Even if your biological clock isn’t ticking, if you intend to have a child later on in life, it is important to consider the challenges and risks involved in delaying childbirth. It is also advisable to consult a specialist who will regularly evaluate your health and regularly offer helpful advice on how to maintain optimum health.
The writer is a medical doctor. Direct any health questions to [email protected]