Pregnant over 40

[Downtherabbithole83]

I’m currently 6 weeks pregnant and am 41. Very aware of all the extra risks this brings and as my last pregnancy (at 39) all went wrong at the 12 week scan when they discovered a number of issues, I’m feel a little stressed by the next couple of months.

Just looking to see if there are many other older mums on here?

I’m doing fine, just tired and fed up with nausea. It puts me off my favourite foods, I can’t even stand thinking about stuff that I normally like.
I eat very well (egg quality, eh) normally and now the idea of my usual dinner makes me gag.
I went to my favourite Asian shop today and instead of my standard shopping list of bitter melon (🤢), fresh spices and purple potatoes (🤮) I left with 10 extra hot instant ramen bowls and some fermented chili paste to top them up. The owner knows me and she looked surprised.

Hi everyone, please can I join too? I’m 42 and 6 weeks pregnant. This is a first pregnancy for me, I’d never even tested before last week, it’s all new. I’ve never had the urge for children, but a now or never moment last year and here I am. I’m taking it one day at a time at the moment….

Hi ladies ❤️ glad for this group. I am 44 and 4 week pregnant. I’ve had 1 mmc last August which ended in d&c and 3 chemicals this year since :(. Hoping this one sticks but I’m getting in a tiz over line progression. Please can I use your eyes 😘🥺

I can definitely see the line @Hopefull441980 . I would test every other day as hcg doubles at the beginning in 36-48h

@CortieTat thank you so much for your reply. I was panicking as I couldn’t see 16 any darker than 15 but I didn’t know it was every 48 hour 🫨 I thought it was 24 and was flapping.
I only have 3 tests left from this batch and I’m going away this weekend so hopefully my mind will be off it ❤️ xxx

I'm 44 and currently 8 weeks with a strong heartbeat

It’s two days at the beginning and then up to 72h above a certain threshold (which I don’t remember). Fingers crossed tight 🍀🍀🍀

Try every other day. You will see difference then x

So pleased to find this thread. I'm 45 and very unexpectedly 8 weeks pregnant. Had private scan this week - actually showed it was a twin pregnancy but one embryo hasn't developed. All I felt was relief to be honest, it's been hard enough to come to terms with the pregnancy - no way we could have coped with twins. Feeling in a very weird headspace at the moment, this has all blindsided me. I have a 4 year old - that pregnancy was very much planned and straightforward.

I am craving salt… not exactly a healthy option but crisps and popcorn give me 10 mins of nausea relief! I normally love fruit but just the thought of most of it makes me feel worse… at this rate I’ll be twice the size by 12 weeks as I’m also not able to run because of feeling so rough and I normally go at least 3 times a week!

Totally understand your feeling about twins @User0141 - I’d feel exactly the same! 😳

Update: I no longer eat salmon 🤢😂

I seem able to eat smoked salmon but not poached salmon! But I sympathise - my nausea has been bad - worsens as the day goes on. Hard to hide as haven't told any friends/family/colleagues at this early stage.

Every day is an experiment at the moment to see what makes it better and worse but the nausea is there from the moment I wake up and I’m struggling to do anything. I’ve got a few people who know which has been useful but my children don’t and hiding it from them is difficult. We’re going on holiday at the end of August and I’m not sure how I’m going to manage it.

I am 44 with an unplanned 18 month old. Pregnancy and birth fine and straightforward. Like PP my head was a bit scrambled to be back in the baby stage. When I was fretting my friend told me about some research that women who give birth after 40 are much more likely to live longer and healthier lives—-so that’s something! I looked it up and it was an interesting read—so there’s another positive!

Really happy to have found this thread! I have a party tonight, it’s gonna be v hard to explain not drinking. I’m not a massive drinker, but I’ll always have a glass of wine / beer when out so it’ll be really noticeable that I don’t. It’s also one of these glass of champagne on entry things which makes it even more obvious 😖

Hi OP, I'm 25 weeks pregnant and 41, might be 42 when baby arrives unless they show up on their due date!

I also had the most awful 24/7 nausea but no throwing up which lasted until 16 weeks. I would really recommend getting some meds before you go on holiday, there's really no point in struggling through and being miserable when there are lots of safe options out there. I found Xonvea the best although they will try and get you to take Cyclazine first, which was effective for me but made me super drowsy for the first few days. If you're going to Spain on your holiday by any chance you can actually buy Xonvea over the counter (it's called Cariban over there) as it's licensed as safe for pregnant women so no need for a prescription. I found that it didn't completely get rid of the sickness but made it much more bearable.

So happy to see you here op! I was on the TFMR thread with you ❤️
I am on my 4th pregnancy (no children) at 41. This one was IVF. I've had my 12 week scan and everything looked ok but it also looked ok last time and turned out not to be. My funding for my NIPT came through today at 14 weeks so 🤞🏼
I must say that my anxiety is not diminishing. I thought at each scan (7, 8, 10 and 13 weeks) that I would feel better but I just can't relax. I keep thinking that something will happen before the 20wk scan or that they will find something at the scan. Its pretty relentless but I guess the reality of pregnancy after loss!

I've also had horrendous nausea which at 14 weeks is still going strong! The only thing that helps is eating and I am piling on the weight. I have also turned into a coach potato and have barely left my sofa in the last month 😁

@DaveWatts in the UK did you get the anti sickness medicine prescribed by your GP, or were you able to buy it over the counter?

Hi, I have my first at 39 and second at 41 with two losses behind.

My happy last pregnancy at 41 was remarkably easy.

The mental part not so easy. Each week got easier as the pregnancy went on. Eventually by 30 weeks after about 8 scans later it all felt much better. I had lots of scans as I paid for early ones and then had growth scans regularly later on to keep an eye on him.

One bizzare positive - I felt I was treated very well at birth. I did opt for induction just before week 40 to minimise risk. Very early on in the induction they had some concerns - no messing around and straight to theatre for a c section:

You can do this

Hi everyone,
I'd love to join this thread.
I'm 40, with a history of recurrent loss. 4 early losses in the last 12 months. Got a little bit further each time but only made it to 10 weeks most recently. I've just had a positive test today and feeling cautiously excited but also very nervous. I've already tested twice today 🙈 and thankfully the second one is already darker than the first.
Have called my consultant as am currently waiting for results from my recent bloods, ultrasound and internal scan so patiently waiting to see what she says...

Hi everyone! I’m going to take a step back from this thread because reading so many stories similar to mine makes me very anxious and I don’t want that. I’ll be checking once a week and keeping my fingers crossed for everyone 🍀

I asked the GP if I could use cyclizine first and they said yes, so I bought some from the pharmacy as I didn't want to wait, though you can get it prescribed. Then when I went on holiday I ran out so ended up switching to Cariban as that was all I could buy there. I was happy to do it as I knew it was actually licensed for use in pregnancy whereas cyclizine isn't (though it's considered fine to use by the NHS and is usually the first anti-nausea drug suggested by GPs).

I'm 42 and delivered my baby a couple of weeks ago after 10 years of infertility. Pregnancy was very smooth. I took aspirin daily and was consultant led
Baby was delivered by ELCS a couple of weeks early (due to my age) but when I cried at my booking appointment because of all the age related risks, the midwife said they have LOTs of women pregnant in their 40s nowadays and it's nothing unusual.
I did have extra scans for a different reason but I have to say it didn't feel real until I saw her. I hope everything goes smoothly for you all x