Advanced Maternal Age?

[Cuddlebaby]

i know, I know, I know. I've recited the lines to others again and again. no such thing. if God allows you to conceive you are perfectly capable of birthing the baby. SO for a mom who has no inclination to abort, I still see no reason for testing. BUT everyone knows the rate of Down's goes up as the mother ages.

but we can psyche ourselves with the stats. sure your chances of birthing a downs baby. see this:

At age 30, for example, a woman has about a 1 in 900 chance of conceiving a child with DS. Those odds increase to about 1 in 350 by age 35. By 40 the risk rises to about 1 in 100. is scary.

but when you look at the *percentages* from the chart, http://www.aafp.org/afp/20000815/825_f1.gif rates are still only 1% @ age 40. I am 40. it's all about me, ha!!

thoughts?

[onelilguysmommy]

I'm not an "AMA" mommy but have been researching for a couple of people because they are worried from everything they hear.

I do wonder why Downs is the most oftern looked at/tested for/etc. I mean IMO there are 'worse' things to be genetic issues but that one seems to be the most often asked about. Kinda interesting to me.

[jessica_anne010]

Originally Posted by Cuddlebaby

i know, I know, I know. I've recited the lines to others again and again. no such thing. if God allows you to conceive you are perfectly capable of birthing the baby. SO for a mom who has no inclination to abort, I still see no reason for testing. BUT everyone knows the rate of Down's goes up as the mother ages.

I think about this from time to time as I'm what they consider an AMA momma, but not what I consider AMA. lol

I am working on a project transcribing censuses to make them easier to search. The one I'm working on at the moment is from 1860. There are some families in there where there are women having babies well after they are 40 and there is nothing listed in the disability column on the census. They wouldn't have been specific, their classifications are deaf, blind, dumb (can't speak) or insane (ANY mental disability). So, I would think that anyone having a Down's child then, the census taker would have listed the child as insane.

I don't know if that will do anything for you, but it makes me feel better. ;-)

[THANKFULFORFIVE]

The stats on increased risk are very inconsistant and misleading....when age alone is taken in to factor. When I was pregnant at 40, I agreed to genetic testing(blood samples and history from both myself and dh) and counseling. We were told that we had NO HIGHER risk than someone in thier 20's...

[Cuddlebaby]

thanks ladies for your thoughts. they do help. really.

[KariM]

Two of my children were conceived and born while I was AMA.

My DD1 was born when I was 37 and my DD2 was born when I was 40.

All of my future children will be born while I'm in my 40s.

For me it's a bit overwhelming to think of having to parent a child with highly specialized needs. I worry that I don't have it in me. Those worries aren't so very different, though, from a young mother worrying if she has it in her to be a mother.

I personally believe that I'll be given the opportunity to learn all I need to know in order to parent my children - whatever their needs might be.

So - in a nutshell whatever will be will be.

[mambera]

Originally Posted by onelilguysmommy

I'm not an "AMA" mommy but have been researching for a couple of people because they are worried from everything they hear.

I do wonder why Downs is the most oftern looked at/tested for/etc. I mean IMO there are 'worse' things to be genetic issues but that one seems to be the most often asked about. Kinda interesting to me.

It's one of the most (maybe the most?) common genetic disorders and it is easy to test for (just a karyotype, meaning you stain the genetic material and look at it rather than needing a specific probe).

The same test will also detect other gross chromosomal anomalies like trisomies 13 and 18 as well as (I think) Fragile X. But those are less common so you hear less about them.

[cathicog]

We have worked with several moms who have had babies in thier 40's up to early 50's, and none in my personal recollection has had a Down's baby. The only people who I personally know with Down's syndrome children had them when they were in thier 20's. I sometimes wonder if those studies that were done were used to discourage women over 40 from having children... ?

[rhiandmoi]

Most babies with Down's are born to younger moms - due to the simple fact that most babies in general are born to younger moms. The chances of having a baby with Down's increase as the mother gets older. But there is some discussion that this is mainly because fewer women have babies after age 35, and that the "risk profile" for Down's syndrome or other chromosomal abnormalities is not as closely related to age as is widely thought now.

[mama in the forest]

SO for a mom who has no inclination to abort, I still see no reason for testing. BUT everyone knows the rate of Down's goes up as the mother ages.

Well, you know, it can be pretty reassuring to test. I'm 44 & pregnant with my 7th right now, and I did a LOT of thinking about what I was willing to do & not do this time around. In the past, I have not tested for genetic abnormalities...just had early ultrasounds to check for viability. With this one, I felt called to do more and it was because of my age.

It took me weeks & weeks to make the decision that I was willing to do an amnio. I had to work through a lot and think hard about what it all meant to me. I made an appointment for the second level ultrasound & amnio at the same time...then while I was there we discussed doing the blood tests too.

As it turns out, my bloodwork came back perfect, and so did the second level ultrasound. I didn't need the amnio. The peri even joked that I had the pregnancy of a 20 year old. Still, I was very glad that I did the mental work ahead of time to decide what I was willing to do & not do.

I think when we choose to birth unassisted, it's really important to take good care of ourselves and to understand what's going on with our babies. For me that meant understanding whether or not my baby could have a problem that would necessitate extra care during or after labor. I want him to be healthy, but if he wasn't, I want to do everything in my power to help him.

[Kidzaplenty]