First pregnancy at 41 and appt at doctor this week. What should I ask for?

[Bohemond]

Hi ladies,

I am 41 and am 7 wks pg for the first time (scary). I have had no problems TTC and realise I am very lucky. I am a v practical person and am keen to know what is going on at all times in the pregnancy. I accept that there are risks with my age and, if I need to make decisions, I would like to be able to make them in a timely manner with all the facts.

There is so much helpful info on this board but it has made my head spin!
Could anyone help me with a clear list of what I should be asking for/expecting and if there is anything I can add privately that might be useful.

Congratulations! You will be seen by a consultant. Probably around 16 weeks but before that everything should be the same as a younger mum. Booking appt with midwife around 10 weeks - at this you can decide if you want just a dating scan or if you want the nuchal translucency scan at 12 weeks. This combined with your blood tests gives you a risk for down's and some other chromosomal conditions. The consultant might talk to you about inducing you at 39 weeks depending on with area you are in - see 35-39 study (
I'll try to find link for you)

Hey Bohemond - you should be offered a whole lot of blood tests as standard (rubella, HIV, chlamidia etc) from your midwife, maybe at around 10 weeks. Then nearer to 12 weeks you should be offered the 'combined test' for Down's syndrome. 'Combined test' = blood tests (prob done by midwife) + nuchal scan (prob done at hospital) which gives you a ratio result giving likelihood of DS, eg. 1:125. It could be fairly high given your age as age is taken into account when calculating the ratio and plays a significant part. If you are 'high risk' based on the ratio then you should be offered a cvs immediately which would tell you for sure if baby has DS or you could wait til later in the pregnancy and have an amnio. Both cvs and amnio have a small risk of miscarriage.
OR you could pay for the Harmony test privately (£400) at 10 weeks and that will give you a much clearer picture of whether your baby has DS although not quite 100% accurate. Harmony is just a blood test so no risk of miscarriage. Much more accurate than the combined test.
I'm going for Harmony as I'm 38 and have had a bad outcome in the past. Don't want to risk miscarriage by having a cvs.

Can't find the link atm but it's not your first concern anyway. Also meant to say I'm 40 having number 3 and my downs odds were 1:10,000 much lower than my other two who I had in my 20s/30s. I'm 21 weeks now and have had no other issues. Chances are you'll be fine!

Congratulations. I was 41 when I had DD.

Just to warn you not to be too disappointed when she/he asks you how well you feel and how you feel about your pregnancy, and then tell you to make a booking in appointment with the midwife. Doctors don't get involved unless there are any health concerns. Do ask for exemptions certificates for prescriptions and free dental care while you are there.

Hi, congratulations on your pregnancy - I had a baby this year aged 41 and just wanted to say that everything was fine and I had a normal vaginal birth (with the aid of forceps at the end) and went into labour naturally at 41 weeks. As long as your health is good and your pregnancy is progressing normally, please don't feel pressured into having consultant-led care or being induced at 39 weeks as there's no evidence that it's necessary- a lot of the over 40 pregnancy data is very old and women tend to be much healthier in their 40's now. I did go along and see the consultant and had some additional blood tests done to rule out some potential issues with my health. Once the tests came back as fine I opted out of consultant led care as it was uneccesary in my case. Lots of women have babies in their 40s now and the midwives will not be phased by this. Unless you have a history of Downs ( or other genetic problems) in your family it's unlikely that you will need additional testing apart from the combined test. There's a really useful thread in the antenatal part of the site full of over 40's having babies which is very reassuring and full of good advice. Hope that everything goes well for you.

Hi I'm 42 and pregnant with DC3, my downs test came back as 1:19000 which for my age is great. I'm 38 weeks and have a planned ELCS for 39 weeks as they don't like you to go over but other than that it's been no different to my other 2 pregnancies in my twenties and thirties :)

Thank you all for such helpful info. It is good to know that there is some extra support and some private options.
Sadly I started bleeding yesterday so this is not all going to happen quite as soon as I thought. I was prepared for a couple of false starts so am looking on the bright side - we will try again.
I will print this thread so I can refer to it when I do need it as I am positive it will work!
My best wishes to all you ladies who are pregnant at the moment.

Oh - i'm sorry to hear that bo

I was going to come on and say that i was expecting to be treated like a piece of frail china - being preg. over 40, but i have to say that apart from me taking up all the tests offered, my care has been the same as for a 20 year old. MWs words. No consultant involved.

Didn't know weather to be pleased or disgruntled!

Best of luck with that next BFP

Thanks Fluffy - you should be pleased I think!