Placenta during last month of pregnancy + older mums

[teeavee]

I had my ds at 32 years old, and I developed an infection in the placenta during the last month, which meant he wasn't able to gain as much weight as he should have (his birth weight was 6.2lbs).

My sister told me that the placenta doesn't fuction as well to term in a higher proportion of 'older' mothers, and that I should think about getting pregnant again quick if I want another, to avoid this happening again!

Does anyone know any more about this? Was my infection a one-off or a sign of old age?!

TIA

bump...

I was 38 when I had dd, and no-one even mentioned that my placenta might not function as well because of my age - and they were pretty good at telling me about all of the problems I might face so I would have thought if it was true, someone would have mentioned it. I suspect it was a one-off, but somene else might be along later who knows better than I do.

My auntie had her 3rd baby at 52! and she had no problems at all and her son weighed in at a healthy 8lb 12oz! she said she actually had more worries and problems with her first when she was aged 25! im sure these things happen 'just because' im sure you will be fine when you have another! My sister had placenta problems with her first baby and she gave birth to a 6lb baby girl, and she was only 22 at the time, she then went on to have son 18 months later and he was fine!

I had my first baby at 41 and had no problems at all. My baby was 8lb 5oz. Unless your sister is an obstretrician I would take what she says with a pinch of salt!

thanks for the reassurance - my sis does tend to consider herself the world authority on childbirth (esp. when talking to me, her younger ergo clueless sibling - it's always been like this!)

your auntie is a rare one indeed helememjay! there's hope for us all then!
there was a 50 year-old opposite me in the maternity unit, having her 2nd child 25 years to the day after her 1st! pretty amazing!

Eh? Never heard of this. Nobody's mentioned it to me. Which doesn't mean it doesn't happen, of course, but actually nobody in either of my pregnancies - at 37 and 39 - mentioned any age-related risks apart from Down's.

never heard of it and at 32 I wouldnt say you were an ol;der mum!!!!!

I think it's true that the placenta can start deterioriating quicker in older women, which is why stillbirth rates are higher for us oldies. (And when I say oldies, teeavee, I mean women of 41 like myself - NOT 32-year-olds.) To put this in perspective, it can double the risk of stillbirth from 1% to 2%. This doesn't account for individual variation, of course.

In any case, I don't see that infection is a sign of placental deterioration. I suspect your sister has picked up a couple of bits of unrelated information and made 2+2=5.

32 is NOT OLD in childbearing terms!