Pregnant at forty and over - thread 2

[cloudjumper]

To continue the support for those of us who are pregnant at forty and over.

What a beautiful pic orla

Yes my consultant last week said I should possibly be induced at 39 weeks - I suggested we speak about it nearer the time (I'm almost 30 weeks). I'm not really sure what the reason is - is it the size of the baby that is relevant at this age? I'm not sure what the other factors are.

brooke there is some data to suggest that the risk of stillbirth in 40+ mothers is higher if you go beyond 39 weeks. it is flimsy and borderline data to say the very least, but that doesn't stop it from informing 'preferences'/policy.

And the evidence isn't so clear that anyone has ever managed to write a fucking guideline on it

Sorry - can you tell I get a bit irate about it!

Ahhh well that word is enough to scare the living s**t out of me, whether it's been proven or not. Cripes, what to do?

My hospital tend to do the get them out by 39 weeks thing too but they seemed quite laid back about it and it was more of a "some research could suggest...the choice is yours" But then they also seem very laid back about c-sections too and if you request one they'll let you have one - that''s my experience of 2 different consultants anyway.

Personally I'm happy for 39 weeks (I'll be overjoyed to actually get there!) and as I will be having a section, it's fine with me. But I can definitely see why people get annoyed about it when it's pretty much forced on them.

Pregnancy is stressful enough without having to fight battles at every corner to get what you want and to do it the way that you want to.

brooke, go with what you think is right and DO NOT let them scare you with the use of that word. As I said, the stats are dubious.

personally, I feel that if my placenta is still doing a grand old job and all is otherwise well, with no signs of labour at 39 weeks, I would like to let nature run its course for up to two weeks, rather than taking out a slightly undercooked baby. I would agree to regular monitoring if that was a compromise. However, I don't feel THAT strongly about it, and if I'm jolly fed up by 39 weeks I may well change my mind!

Isla - she's gorgeous, and that's a really great photo.

I'm getting slightly fed-up with trundling back and forward to hospital - this will be my 5th trip in 6 days - but they are brilliant at looking after you: I can highly recommend Great Western in Swindon, based on my current heavy usage . Glucose tests on Monday, instruction from midwife yesterday on how to test blood, and appointment with dietician today - they certainly seem to move fast.

However, I was due to be induced anyway because of my age (43), but they're already muttering about bringing it forward if I can't control my blood sugars without medication. I went straight from that conversation to our NCT class which was about...... induction. Yay - NOT!!

Personally, I'm happy to go with the guidance, because getting a healthy, safe baby at the end of it is the most important thing for me. But I'm sure the rest of the class last night wondered why I was being so overly-emotional, as I realised just what an unpleasant experience an induced labour could be. I shall try to think positive thoughts, but it's feeling a bit grim at the moment.

30 weeks tomorrow, huzzah!! It's all going quite quickly now . . . . .

At my consultant appointment last week they found trace glucose in my urine. Could this be the start of GD? hebs did you have any symptoms to speak of?

Hi Brooke - no, no obvious symptoms apart from glucose in my urine, which I've had for months. I mean, I'm tired and a bit thirsty, but I'm nearly 8 months pregnant and increased blood volume means more drinking anyway, so nothing that made me feel odd, or obviously unwell. I've already had one set of blood tests for GD in December and they came back fine, but the hospital midwife wasn't happy over the weekend so wanted the bloods.

Apparently they were only just over the trigger, but still enough to diagnose. I'm already over the novelty of sticking my finger 6 times a day .

Apparently some women do just show glucose in their urine because of 'leaky kidneys' said the midwife, in which case a sample taken first thing, before breakfast, should come back OK.

Hi all, I'm off to get the GTT tomorrow morning, because my urine sample showed up trace glucose again. hebs how are you getting on? Has anyone else had experience of this?

I'm almost 31 weeks now We can now see my belly moving up and down most nights now! I'm starting to get an idea of what being heavily pregnant might feel like now. . . . I'm already feeling a bit cumbersome and definitely waddling a little.

How is everyone?

Hey Brooke - 31 weeks, wow! How exciting to see your belly moving. Hope your appointment goes well today.

I've started feeing mine wriggle and flutter in the last week or so (I'm 18 weeks) which is really exciting and reassuring. I'm very definitely showing now too...I'm amazed at how much my bump size varies through the day. Sometimes it's barely noticeable and other times I look massive!

I've started getting the bump touchers now too - the cleaner at work had a good grope last night! Mind you, she also told me loads of 'ways to tell if it's a boy or a girl' which involved things like rubbing a needle and thread on my hand! think I'll just stick with the scan, thanks...

I have had a few crampy type pains in the last couple of days which is giving me the fear...anyone else had this at the 18 weekish stage? I've had the usual stretching and ligament type pains which I've got used to but this feels more 'inside' if you know what I mean?

Hope everyone's well!

Good luck for today brooke hope it all goes well.

Greater I got those pains too around the same time and yes they felt very inside too - ligament pain was what it was put down too. It was also around that time that I started to get a really bad ache/pains in my groin and insides of my thighs - bit like I'd been horse riding for 3 days solid is the best way I can describe it! They put that down to ligament pain too. I'm 33+1 now and all seems to be going well ( but still have the pains and the groin ones are getting more frequent - I do tend to walk a bit like John Wayne when I get up from sitting for a while!)

I had another growth scan last week and everything is on track - yay! They don't want to see me until 36 weeks either, so they have no concerns at all.
And I now have my date for my ELCS which will be 22nd March when I'll be bang on 39 weeks. I really need to get my arse into gear and get stuff sorted now and down from the loft.

Hope everyone else is OK.

Is it okay if I join? I have

I'm 40 and 8 weeks pregnant. I've got a 2 year old DS. I've had a very chequered history with pregnancies so we are keeping our fingers permanently crossed. We've had an early scan and seen HB so now going every 2 weeks for check up. I hate this stage so much worry

Can't believe how tired I'm feeling. Also got full on morning sickness and lack of appetite this time. Completely different to last time which was basically acid indigestion for 9 months.

I can second what Hebs said about the Great Western they've been great with me.

Hi Andthen Hope the sickness passes soon and hope everything still keeps going well

I got the all clear for the glucose test!

Even so, I'm having one of my worry days because of a comment from someone yesterday. They were quite surprised that I hadn't had a CVS test. I just had the usual NHS blood test for Downs and it came back 'low chance' which was good enough for us. I know the test is for a lot more, but it's actually never occurred to us to worry terribly about every possibility. Although I'm making up for it now! Does everyone as 'this age' go for these tests?

Great news brooke about the glucose test!

I've only had the combined blood and nuchal fold NHS test too. As far as I know you'd only be recommended to go for CVS or ammnio if you were high risk - regardless of age and I think that was classed as anything lower than 1:100.
I was low risk too with a risk factor of 1:2332 so was never offer anything else and it never occurred to me to ask to be honest.

Thanks notfrom, that's reassuring. I think having to go for the glucose test has made me go from confident into worry mode. I'm now staring at my belly waiting for movement He's having a quiet day!!

Yes, what notfrom said. Because there's a risk of miscarriage with amnio and CVS tests, they only do them if you're high risk.

43 in March.

14w and a bit with DC3. The other kids are DD, 6 and DS, 3 and a half.

I was very happy when my 12 week scan gave me a significant age discount... 1 in 580 risk of Downs, which means I'm actually 31. I wish my grey hair would also disappear.

Hi Marquand glad you had a reassuring 12 week scan

Welcome Marquand. There's nothing like a good scan

I'm 43 in May and 31 weeks today!

I wish my 12 week scan had told me what age I really am

Thank you for the warm welcome

Does anyone else feel exhausted? I mean like they get to a certain part of the day and someone has shot them in the bum with a tranquilliser dart!! You can't help but just want to curl up and sleep.

That's the worse bit at the moment for me. I'm hoping second trimester is better keeps fingers crossed

I started to go to bed 2 hours earlier than before. I was just too tired to stay up. Now (26 weeks) I'm a lot better but as I'm still waking up in the middle of the night and not really getting back to sleep properly, I'm still going to bed at the same time.

Brooke It was perfectly reasonable and sensible of you to not have any further testing. In my case I did because of experience in previous pregnancy when I was 41. My risk was roughly in line with my age and presented to me as 'high risk' and it was a really stressful time (and I went on to have an amnio which was clear). This time around, I could have ended up with a much 'better' risk or it could have been a lot worse, as my age is much greater (44). I decided the best thing was to pre-empt the NHS testing and go straight to Harmony testing at 10 weeks so by the time I had my 12 week scan I had the results so their risk calculations meant nothing.

Today has been a bit of a milestone day - am 28w exactly and had a growth scan this morning followed by a meeting with the consultant. The good news is that she agreed to book me in for a C-section at 39+4 so I now have a date! The interesting news is that the baby is as large as I predicted - 3lb estimated with a very large head...

We have 4D scan appt tomorrow - quite excited about it although it's being done mostly for DD's benefit so that she can see the baby properly (and maybe believe me as she's a bit sceptical about the whole thing at the moment)

Welcome Marquand Great news re your scan

Thanks for the welcome everyone.

In the middle of a heat wave (in Johannesburg), my son (3) is sick and clingy, and we are moving house in two weeks (4 boxes packed, yay). My daughter (6) wants to help, and that is actually a tiny bit worse.

I have a new boss and after forced leave in December (announced in November) I'm stuck with a negative leave balance until around April. (OK, the leave in Dec was great, and I have no idea how I would have survived without it). And has anyone ever mentioned anything about exhaustion during pregnancy?

Typing on my phone and I cannot figure out how to make things bold (will check when on my PC), so I cannot highlight who I'm responding to.

If you're over 40 and got a good 12 week scan, you are definitely a little lot younger than the official paperwork has it.

Good luck with the worrying of getting the first trimester over. It is a stressful time, but no amount of worry has ever made time pass faster. At least I had the benefit of the nausea diet to keep me occupied. 5kg down, when I last weighed more than 2 weeks ago. I wouldn't be surprised if I said goodbye to another kg or two since.

If you're in the 3rd trimester, whoohoo! It's uncomfortable, but it's at least not summer. And not too long to go.

Good luck, stay strong, and enjoy a chocolate.