please reassure this old lady!!

[pippapenguin]

Hi I'm new to mumsnet. Just found out at the ripe old age of 42 that I'm pregnant with my 4th child after a gap of 19 years!! Was feeling really happy until I visited my Doctor who was full of doom and gloom. Basically she implied that I was either destined to miscarry, have a really horrendous pregnancy or that I was odds on to have a disabled child.I'm sure that they're are older mothers here who can tell me their happy endings to restore my happy feelings and sense of wellbeing.I've been hoping for a little one ever since I had a miscarraige 6yrs ago when I was 9wks pregnant and I was looking at this pregnancy as my own little miracle till my visi to Dr Doom.

hi pippapenguin , congratulations
what a horrible doctor you have
there is a section on here for pregnant mums over 40 , they might be able to give you support & encouragement , best of luck with this pregnancy ,

hi pippapenguin im 43 and expecting my 5th child in 7 days, ive had a 14 year gap. Im so excited and had very possitive midwife and docs so good luck and enjoy really pleased for you

I know someone like Loganberry; her baby was fine. The mom did choose to have amnio 4 peace of mind. Good luck .

What an awful sounding doctor! I mean I know they have to tell you about things that might happen but i reckon the risk is only slightly elevated- imo if u weren't meant 2 have a baby ur body wouldnt have given u one! I would advise u just to relax and enjoy ur pregnancy as much as possible! My mum had me later on in life after a big age gap and said she was actually a lot calmer and enjoyed the whole experience of pregnancy and childbirth more. Congrats!

PP DD2 was born after a 6 year gap and I was welloverthehill about the same age when I fell pg. My consultant was fab and basically kept telling me not to worry about my age at all. He said in obstetric terms anyone over the age of about 21 is at a risk of some sort or another so why worry. I had a nuchal scan following a highish triple test result around 150/1 I think and everything was fine. I had a really low risk (8000/1) from the CUBs procedure which is the nuchal combined with some blood tests and chose to leave everything to fate without going further. DD2 is a delight and more placid and better behaved than DD1 was.

She's 21 months now and although I'm older than a lot of the other mums at nursery I'm by no means the only one in their forties.

Good luck and hope everything goes well.

I had my 5th at 43 after a gap of 15 years. Sounds like your GP doesn't know what she is talking about. My mw and consultant were really positive and told me everything would be OK and it was.

Thanks for all your responses, am feeling better already.

pippapenguin please come and join us on the geriatric mummies thread here we have lots of lovely babies and we are all over 40 and hardly any horror stories to relate...

your doctor is an eejit by the way...

oh and we have age gaps even bigger than yours...