To not be worried about pregnancy at 38

I got pg at 40, ended in MC and I had to have an operation to remove the pregnancy. Wouldn’t suggest it as a great option.

Before the contraception pill existed women became pregnant into their 40s quite often!

I think you mean more women given birth in their 40s than under 20s!

More people give birth in their 40s than do in their 20s! I am 49 and I still wouldn’t take the risk!!

YY, this is a really important point - in the past, it was really common for women to be pregnant into their late 30s and 40s, even 50s.

Sadly, it does mean that recurrent miscarriage was a fact of life, and well understood. We've lost that understanding now.

But it has never been unusual for women to get pregnant at 38.

I had my 2nd DD at 38, conceived pretty quickly, you are being utterly ridiculous. Several friends had children late 30s early 40s.

Woah, no way I’d risk it unless planned, a pretty normal age these days.

38 is a really normal age to be pregnant; it’s later than average, but averages are obviously the product of conception ages varying widely.

It’s very normal these days to get pregnant later, but it was historically very normal as well. The difference in modern times is that it’s more common for a woman’s first child to be conceived later, whereas in the past it would be unlikely to be their first.

@Badslipperluck Is that with certain conditions? I just had a baby at almost 40 and didn’t come across either of those things.

I think you are confusing two different things.

You remain fertile until menopause is finished, which could easily be 50+.

But, as you get older, the likelihood you are producing abnormal eggs increases. If these eggs are fertilised, they are less likely to implant, more likely to result in a miscarriage (and also more likely to result in chromosomal conditions such as Down's Syndrome).

Lots of people are still fertile and able to have a healthy baby at 38. Some are not. And many people will find it takes longer, and involves more miscarriages, to get there.

Once you are into your 40s, it is very likely you will keep on ovulating, but if the eggs are fertilised, many of them won't implant (and you won't know they ever fertilised), or you will miscarry - early on, you may not even know this has happened.

The reason it's worth being nervous about pregnancies into your late 30s/40s isn't that you couldn't conceive. It's that you are so much more likely to experience a miscarriage.

Some of the posts on this thread are ridiculous. I had two textbook pregnancies at 40 and 42. 38 is nothing.

Doesn't mean you can't get pregnant though. Biology says what's what.

It's ok if you're ok with being 'forced' into compression stockings and blood thinner injections

You wouldn't. Not at 38.

42-43 or older then yes, that is too old to have a baby (IMO) and many other people will agree.

But 38 isn't too old to have a baby.

It's not young though. Nor is it 'average.' It is older than average to have a baby.

But it's not too old.

You wouldn't. Not at 38.

42-43 or older then yes, that is too old to have a baby (IMO) and many other people will agree.

But 38 isn't too old to have a baby.

It's not young though. Nor is it 'average.' It is older than average to have a baby.

But it's not too old.

I think it’s very foolish to think like that OP. I had my little darling a few months before I turned 45. Healthy/easy pregnancy and birth and she’s the light of our lives. Periods returned like clockwork soon after and no signs of peri menopause here yet.

Edit: completely missed the ‘not’ in your post 🙈

yes you can still get pregnant at 38 - easily.

Are you hoping to get pregnant??

I got pregnant twice at 37 easily. One of those ended in miscarriage (hence the next one soon after), but I got pregnant first cycle trying both times.

I’m 45, with a period only about every quarter (roughly 4 a year) and I still take my birth control religiously every day.

I started around 13 ish. I had periods as normal, then at 52 I never had another one so no signs.

I just had my third baby at 41. It was by far the easiest pregnancy and birth of my three. 38 is nothing these days.

Ermmmmmm what planet are you on OP?
Unless you had medical early menopause or a hysterectomy then your being worse then a naive 16 year old saying they can't get pregnant the first time they have sex!

Many of my friends had 2nd/3rd child age 39-44!

I had two children after 38. Contraception is very, very important.

I know what a lot of people would say if I told them this, but I don’t think I really need contraception either. I’m forty. Embarrassing to admit but I only found out afterwards that I had been taking the pill all wrong from the age of sixteen to thirty. I would take them randomly, not follow the arrow, forgot to take them, take double (I’ve got mh problems/adhd).
So I wasn’t properly protected at all. I’ve had the same partner since my teens, very regular, frequent love life and not once did I get pregnant. When I actually wanted to get pregnant at 31 I stopped the pill, lost a lot of weight, stopped smoking and it took 6months of concerted effort to conceive.
Everything went fine. I bf for 2 years and my cycle never went back to normal. I re gained the weight I lost. I started to get very noticeable peri symptoms starting at 36. Tests confirmed it.
We tried for about a year for number 2 around that time but no luck whatsoever.
I haven’t been much bothered with contraception since. I feel like I know my body and the chances for me personally of getting pregnant now are very very low.

Can I ask what are the signs it has started? And also do you mind me asking what age your periods started as im wondering if a later menopause is caused by if you started your periods later?

You would not.

You are well past the age of conception when you have gone through menopause. Have you? No? Then as someone who had kids at 41 and 43, with several friends all conceiving naturally at 40 plus (one at 45, another at 46), you may be in for a big surprise.
As for MN, a quick search will turn up dozens of threads about pregnancy post 40, with only a few saying they’d feel too old to have a child then. Most would be overwhelmingly positive.