https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Wed, 15 Apr 2026 01:34:03 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-are-35-and-pregnant#post-1580868 Mon, 21 Apr 2014 12:42:53 +0000 Canoli 1580868@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I am 35 and classified AMA but not high risk. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-are-35-and-pregnant#post-1580331 Mon, 21 Apr 2014 09:26:44 +0000 MamaG 1580331@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MsLipGloss: Yes! I apologize as I didn't articulate myself fully. I should have explained that I wasn't 100% in agreement with my doctor but I found the perspective interesting. I did tell my doctor that I felt like I would need time to accept our reality and prepare/educate myself for a child that might be born with genetic differences. </p> <p>Honestly the genetic screening was one of the most challenging things for me in pregnancy as I really had to do some soul searching about myself as a person and parent. My spouse and I were not always on the same page in this regard either. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-are-35-and-pregnant#post-1580306 Mon, 21 Apr 2014 09:14:18 +0000 Mamasig 1580306@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm 35 and pregnant with my 2nd. It didn't automatically make me high risk. But I developed GD this time (I didn't have it with my 1st) so now I'm monitored more. I have family history of diabetes but I was told age also plays a factor. </p> <p>We're considering a 3rd child in about 2-3 years so I wonder how much different that pregnancy will be in terms of monitoring and tests. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-are-35-and-pregnant#post-1580280 Mon, 21 Apr 2014 09:02:39 +0000 beckysue 1580280@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Smurfette: I am 36 and will be 37 when I deliver my first in August. I am not high risk. I am considered AMA since I am in the US however, my Dr. has never treated me that way at all or made an issue about my age. He actually said in one of my early appointments that women my age having children is pretty standard now. The only major thing I have noted was that my insurance would have covered the MaternT21 test if I opted to have it since I am over 35. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-are-35-and-pregnant#post-1580255 Mon, 21 Apr 2014 08:54:38 +0000 littlek 1580255@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MsLipGloss: I had a CVS and I personally would have wanted the time to prepare for a special needs child. So, I agree with you 100%. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-are-35-and-pregnant#post-1580248 Mon, 21 Apr 2014 08:51:05 +0000 MsLipGloss 1580248@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MamaG: My only comment would be regarding the "value" of a CVS/Amnio . . . for some, even if they would not have chosen to abort, having several months to prepare for a LO who would have special needs is a huge benefit. For others, having the chance to spare their LO a short and very painful life is a huge benefit as well. I loathe when practitioners discount the benefits of genetic testing. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-are-35-and-pregnant#post-1580238 Mon, 21 Apr 2014 08:46:18 +0000 MamaG 1580238@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I was 37 with my first, and was AMA but was not high-risk. Even when I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes, I still wasn't high risk. But I was certainly more closely monitored.</p> <p>As far as genetic testing, my doctor didn't push it. She told us it was our decision and that we really needed to consider what we would do with the information we received. In her opinion, if we weren't willing to abort the pregnancy there wasn't much value in having the genetic testing completed. We had a screening and NT scan, but did not have amnio or CVS done. </p> <p>I will be inquiring about the Maternity21 testing this time around as I'm now 39 and will be 40 when #2 is born. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-are-35-and-pregnant#post-1580169 Mon, 21 Apr 2014 08:16:21 +0000 night cheese 1580169@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm 38 and pregnant with my first (will be 39 when I deliver), and the only difference is that my OB wanted me to get some additional genetic testing, because the chances of Down's and some other genetic diseases goes up with age. Luckily, all of our screenings have been negative.</p> <p>Other than that, it's been a pretty textbook pregnancy. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-are-35-and-pregnant#post-1580143 Mon, 21 Apr 2014 07:52:30 +0000 MsLipGloss 1580143@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Smurfette: Yep! My OB told me I could be slightly more concerned at 40+ . . . but that 35+ was pretty much *no biggie* (assuming a healthy mama to start with . . .). I also opted to have an amnio at 16 weeks because I wanted to know for sure whether or not everything was okay (to the extent that you can know, I wanted to know). Even though my risk numbers were so low, somebody represents the 1 in the 1 out of [fill in the number of your choice here]. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-are-35-and-pregnant#post-1580138 Mon, 21 Apr 2014 07:50:03 +0000 ValentineMommy 1580138@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Our area considered AMA to be a higher-risk, but not full blown high risk...if that makes sense. I think they do some extra testing, but nothing crazy. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-are-35-and-pregnant#post-1580136 Mon, 21 Apr 2014 07:49:29 +0000 looch 1580136@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Smurfette: I agree with your doctor, in all honesty, it feels like we're learning more and more about pregnancy and older mothers/fathers and things are slowly changing. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-are-35-and-pregnant#post-1580135 Mon, 21 Apr 2014 07:49:24 +0000 butterbean 1580135@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>i'm 35 and pregnant with #2...my doctor didn't mention anything to me </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-are-35-and-pregnant#post-1580132 Mon, 21 Apr 2014 07:48:08 +0000 Smurfette 1580132@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MsLipGloss: I was thinking about it last night cause so many women are waiting later to have kids, seems normal these day. I know my doctor told me to not even be worried about being 35 and having another. Said there is no need for me to feel rushed to pop out another cause of my age. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-are-35-and-pregnant#post-1580124 Mon, 21 Apr 2014 07:42:50 +0000 MsLipGloss 1580124@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Smurfette: It will probably be so low-key that you will wonder just what the heck is up with all of the *over 35* talk . . . ! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-are-35-and-pregnant#post-1580120 Mon, 21 Apr 2014 07:40:08 +0000 Smurfette 1580120@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>So there really shouldn't be any difference in my prenatal care from my 1st pregnancy (33/34) to the next one? I was just wondering, I have no news to report! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-are-35-and-pregnant#post-1580109 Mon, 21 Apr 2014 07:33:59 +0000 shellio 1580109@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>.@Smurfette: The medical term we usually use is "advanced maternal age" (or AMA). The reason 35 is traditionally considered AMA is that the risk of having a chromosomal abnormality (Down's syndrome, among others) reaches about 1/200 at this age. One common method of testing a fetus's DNA for a chromosomal abnormality is amniocentesis, where they put a needle into the amniotic fluid and draw it out. This procedure was considered to have a risk of inducing miscarriage of about 1/200, so at age 35, your risk of having a child with chromosomal abnormality is approximately the same as your risk of miscarriage. More recent studies suggest that amniocentesis is much safer than this and actually probably has a much smaller risk of inducing miscarriage. Before the maternity 21 test became widely used over the past year or two, amniocentesis was offered to women of advanced maternal age and covered by insurance. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-are-35-and-pregnant#post-1580105 Mon, 21 Apr 2014 07:28:15 +0000 MsLipGloss 1580105@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>No, you do not become automatically *high risk* at 35. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-are-35-and-pregnant#post-1580104 Mon, 21 Apr 2014 07:27:47 +0000 littlek 1580104@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>No, Advanced maternal age and high risk are different. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-are-35-and-pregnant#post-1580102 Mon, 21 Apr 2014 07:26:13 +0000 Weagle 1580102@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>A friend is newly pregnant at 35, and her doctor told her she is neither. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-are-35-and-pregnant#post-1580093 Mon, 21 Apr 2014 07:18:27 +0000 looch 1580093@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>High risk and AMA are different. I was neither, even though I was pregnant at 34 and delivered at 35 (in Europe, 40 is AMA).</p> <p>edited to add: my understanding that AMA has been 35 in the US, but it's slowly creeping up to 40. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-are-35-and-pregnant#post-1580092 Mon, 21 Apr 2014 07:16:36 +0000 Smurfette 1580092@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Does that make you high-risk? Or do they determine that patient by patient? </p>