Pregnant at 42

[LJEva]

Hi all,

I’m 10 weeks pregnant and have just turned 42 years old with my second baby. My first is 8 and so it’s a long time ago that I went through pregnancy and I’m finding so many differences now with tests I’m being offered and language being used.

I’ve decided not to have the NIPTY test as it was only odds and not a definite yes or no for chromosomal disorders and for the same reason I’m refusing the NHS blood and scan tests for downs etc. My thinking is that it’s all just odds rather than a definitive answer and they can’t test for everything that could possibly be wrong with a pregnancy... I’ve also been told that the 20 week scan will pick up any serious abnormalities that would require me to make any difficult decisions and I wouldn’t be prepared to have an Amnio due to risk of miscarriage if my odds suddenly were raised from these tests.

I just wondered of other mums who’ve made this decision? I’ve got these natural fears of something being wrong due to my age but it’s so hard to know what to do. How many people had healthy babies in their 40’s? How many chose not to be tested?

Thank you in advance.

I'm 40 and 12 weeks with my first. I had a Harmony NIPT test at 10 weeks which thankfully showed low risk for Downs, Edwards and Patau. It is high or low risk but it's given us a 0.01% chance of having those conditions which is as close to 0% as you can get and it has really put my mind at ease, it's 3 things I don't have to worry about. As far as I know, the NHS test isn't as definitive.

My brother has severe disabilities and I have spent a lot of time in the company of disabled children and adults. I know there is a chance something else unknown could turn up but I personally need to do eveything I can to know in advance if a disability might occur and do whatever it takes to avoid a birth injury too. Please don't take this as anything negative at all against people raising disabled children, I've been my brother's carer my whole life and his guardian since my parents died.

I'm 42 and only just found out I'm pregnant, so I'm behind you. I'll be having all the test I'm offered.