LocalMommy.com

Prenatal Testing and The Older Mom

16th March, 2009 - Posted by LocalMommy -

Prenatal testing and the over 35 mom can be a very scary time. First of all you are pregnant and OLDER and it seems like everything you read is not very comforting. You have older eggs but that doesn’t mean they are rotten or destined to be abnormal. When I got pregnant at 43 my OB/GYN, Dr. Bunan Alnaif, sat down and discussed all the different  tests available and the risks and when they should be taken. We decided to take it one step at a time and the least invasive route and if something came back abnormal then we would proceed. The least invasive is the normal blood work and ultrasound. We had the ultrasound called the NT test or the nuchal fold test. This ultrasound measures the clear space in the tissue on your babys’ neck. Babies with abnormalities tend to have a larger space than average. This test must be done between 11 and 13 weeks of pregnancy. We came back fine so we ruled out any further test at the time. The CVS or chorionic villus sampling test is also offered during the 11th and 12th weeks. It is an invasive test and does carry more risk such as miscarriage and leaking of amniotic fluid along with other risk. The risk of miscarriage is almost equal to the risk of having a baby with a chromosomal abnormalities. The risk for the more invasive prenatal tests should be weighed and you should understand all the complications that could occur even if it is rare. We continued to have the regularly scheduled blood work and ultrasounds and as long as there were not any indicators we did not have any other tests. If there had been any indicators I would have discussed it with my doctor and had the amnio. I would have done what I needed to do to have a healthy baby;but I was determined to take the least invasive route.  Many women who get pregnant later in life feel like they have to have all the tests done because they are older. Each case is different and each woman has to decide what they need to know so they can make the best decisions for themselves and their baby.  I recently read an article in our local paper about a woman who got pregnant at 36 and had the CVS test done because she was older even though she had no other indicators. The test was done and she began to leak amniotic fluid and this condition worsened and the baby did not survive. I began to think about being pregnant and how no matter what are age we all worry about having a healthy baby but, older moms are bombarded withthe Over 35 statistics. I think it is important to evaluate all the tests and choose the ones that best apply to you and your pregnancy and not just your age bracket. The truth is women over 35 have healthy pregnancies and babies everyday. 

Until Next Time,

LocalMommy