Getting pregnant at 40

[Krista2]

Does anyone have any advice on having more kids at 40? I already have a daughter but would love another baby.
whenever I google pregnancy over 40, it’s generally negative or giving high risks

i would love to hear some positivity around having kids slightly “older”

I’ve been career driven and travelling the world on great holidays but have hit a second settling down phase in my life. Our daughter is 8 and we would love to add to our family now.

any positivity would be welcome ?

TBF, it’s not about anyone else happy hallmark,stories, it’s all about you
Are you in good physical and mental health? Healthy BMI? Solvent. Is your relationship stable
Why now? Why do you want a baby now? Why not 3 or 5year ago.

Yes we are happily married. We’ve just been caught in a whirlwind living life and have now decided we would love another baby

Health wise all is well, I’m active and periods are regular etc

If both partners healthy then more likely a healthy pregnancy. That said, more risks with age with the actual pregnancy and labour but also the baby. In all honesty though, what are the opinions of an online forum going to do really? Would it persuade you not to have another kid? Nah. Go forth and multiply.

I had my one and only at 40. Easy pregnancy, arrived of his own volition and a day before my due date, spontaneous labour, normal delivery. Breastfeeding was easy, no health problems for either of us 🤷‍♀️

In That case crack on and congratulations Familiarise yourself with potential risk. Be realistic eg higher chance CS . Don’t be too rigid about mode of delivery and don’t be rigid about mode of feeding . Formula is safe
I’m not being facetious it’s just that it really is about you. Everyone Else happy story, is just that , simply is a nice story. No actual impact upon your outcome

Almost exactly the same as this. I found out I was pregnant a couple of weeks before my 40th. Textbook easy pregnancy, baby arrived 5 days after due date without induction (despite consultants pressuring for it based only on my age). Relatively straightforward labour with only gas & air. Quick physical recovery for me and a healthy thriving baby. Breastfed exclusively until he was 8 months. Many on MN will tell you they wouldn’t dream of it, but in the main they are people who had already completed their families in their 30s.

I’ve just had a second at age 40. He was a surprise conception after we had to have ivf for our first (who i has when I was 38). Both pregnancies and births have gone smoothly. Risks do increase with age statistically, but if you are able to conceive and make it through the earliest stages of the pregnancy, the chances of a healthy baby are very good.
We live in an area where lots of women have babies in late 30s and 40s - I was given one extra scan towards the end of pregnancy due to age for number 2 and other than that not treated any differently

I had mine at 40. Reasonably easy conception, easy pregnancy, all went fine. Our dc is thriving and perfect. I did make sure that we both took really good quality pre conception vitamins for a few months before and during trying. Go for it!

I had DS at 41. Easy pregnancy, he was 8 days early, but ended up as an emergency c section as his heartrate dropped just after they gave me an epidural. I was slightly high risk as my BMI was higher than ideal, but no issues whatsoever. 43 this year and TTC no 2.

How does your daughter feel about it, ime an age gap that large often doesn't work

I've just had my 2nd aged 40, now 41. Pregnancy was ok although I felt awful (but I felt awful with my 1st when I was 37 too!) If I could go back in time I wouldn't have the combined screening offered by the hospital and just pay for a private NIPT test - it's pricey but I found that my screening risk was high as was everyone else I know who has had a baby over 40. There were some other issues (sonographer made a mistake etc) but it was so stressful and made me not enjoy the pregnancy. I paid for an nipt test which isn't 100% but has a high accuracy. My baby just came out with a really fat neck! He is totally healthy and was actually massive at 10lbs 5oz!

42 and 25 weeks pregnant with a surprise baby that we are thrilled about. It’s our first and it’s been an eye opening experience lol. The main thing I have learned is that the medical field is out dated when it comes to women and aging. As soon as I enter my DOB everything flags as high risk, even though everything is fine. My midwife assured me that this is changing and the NHS are updating the parameters around “older” women having babies because so many of us focus on establishing careers, financial stability etc before we feel ready these days. If you want another baby have one. Nobody else's opinion matters.

I think that getting pregnant, staying pregnant, successful birth, a healthy baby… So much of it is down to pure chance.

I wouldn’t worry about various factors. Have plenty of sex & see if it happens. Decide if you want help, if it doesn’t. I had DS at 44.

42 and 19wks pregnant, DC 1 is 19! Had Mirena removed and fell pregnant straight away (although I realise how lucky I am here).
Screening all very normal too, very low risk on this. Again, I realise how lucky I am.
The internet is THE WORSE place for looking for advice re older mums, it gave me horrific anxiety in early pregnancy

Good luck with your journey 😊

41 with baby number 3 and all fine so far with no issues. I had a miscarriage (my first) at 40 that could have been age-related but could have been one of those things. Ignore the comment above about large age gaps not working - I know numerous people with up to 13 year age gaps with their siblings and they are all very close. I also know people with 2-3 year gaps who aren’t close. It just depends!

I had my first baby at 41 and currently 17 weeks pregnant with my second at 43. Both straight forward pregnancies (second one so far anyway!) I am fit and healthy. However I
have also had 2 miscarriages, age 40 and 42 in between.
Best of luck x

There's a 7 year age gap between my older sister and I. Its perfectly fine. You can have siblings a year apart that hate each other. The age gap has nothing to do with how well they'll get along.