Being pregnant after 40

Taking good care of yourself is the best way to take care of your baby. During pregnancy, it's a good idea to:

• eat a healthy diet
• aim for a healthy weight gain
• stay active
• avoid alcohol, tobacco and illegal drugs
• get regular antenatal care

Good antenatal care is important for both you and your baby. Antenatal care is the care you get while you're pregnant. It's an important way to keep yourself and your baby healthy.

Getting early and regular antenatal care may increase your chances of having a healthy baby.

Different types of tests can be used to check your health and your baby's health. These include blood tests, urine tests and ultrasound scans.

Vaccinations

Your doctor will probably recommend that you get the:

• influenza (flu) vaccine — at any time during your pregnancy
• pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine — preferably between 20 and 32 weeks of pregnancy

They may also organise a blood test to check your rubella immunity. If you are not immune to rubella, they will organise for you to be vaccinated against rubella once you have had your baby.

There are a few pregnancy complications that are more common in women over 40 years.

Possible health complications

When you get pregnant later in life, there is a higher chance of complications. But these risks do not increase all at once.

Pregnant women aged over 40 years are more likely to have:

• high blood pressure
• deep vein thrombosis (DVT)
• heartburn

If you're healthy and haven't had previous problems with pregnancy and giving birth, being older is less of an issue.

Your midwife or doctor will give you advice on lifestyle changes you can make.

Possible pregnancy and birth complications

There are some other complications that increase in older pregnant women. In early pregnancy, these are:

• having twins or even triplets
• ectopic pregnancy
• having a miscarriage

In later pregnancy, complications can include:

• gestational diabetes
• placenta praevia
• pre-eclampsia
• growth restriction of your baby
• premature labour
• greater chance of needing a caesarean section

If you are aged 40 years or older, your doctor may suggest that you give birth by 40 weeks of pregnancy. This may be done with induction of labour.

Induction of labour may be recommended because after 40 weeks, the chance of stillbirth slightly increases.

You will have the chance to discuss this with your midwife or doctor. How and when you give birth will depend on your specific circumstances and wishes.

Possible complications for your baby

Pregnancy later in life can also increase the chance of some health conditions for your baby.

The overall chance of having a baby with a chromosome difference is small. But as you get older, this chance increases.

Prenatal screening tests look at the chance of your baby having one of these conditions:

• Down syndrome (trisomy 21)
• Edwards syndrome (trisomy 18)
• Patau syndrome (trisomy 13)

Antenatal tests for genetic conditions are offered to all pregnant women. You can choose whether to have these screening tests. Speak with your doctor or midwife to help you decide.

If the screening test results show an increased chance of your baby having a chromosomal condition, you can choose to have a diagnostic test. A diagnostic test can confirm if your baby has the condition or not.

The main diagnostic tests are:

• chorionic villus sampling
• amniocentesis

You may also want to have genetic counselling. A genetic counsellor can talk with you about what might happen with your baby, and how you might handle the situation.

Your doctor or midwife can answer any questions you may have about your pregnancy. They can also help you prepare for the birth.

The Baby Coming You Ready website has information about pregnancy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.