Countless women welcome healthy children in their thirties and forties, but the fact of the matter is that there are some additional risks associated with having a baby after the age of 35.
Statistics show that more women are waiting to have children later in life than ever before. Be it for personal or professional reasons, the median age of a woman giving birth has jumped above the age of 30 for the first time on record. In today’s blog, we share some tips for doing what you can to ensure you have a healthy pregnancy if you are older than 35 years old.
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Regular Prenatal Visits – You will have a number of regular prenatal appointments between conception and delivery of your baby. These visits help to ensure both baby and mother are progressing as expected. Make sure that you attend all of these prenatal appointments so that any issues can be addressed at an earlier stage. From providing nutritional advice to monitoring your blood pressure, these prenatal appointments are very helpful to mothers of all ages.
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Prenatal Vitamins – Prenatal vitamins are also very important in helping your body create an ideal environment for baby development. You don’t need to wait until you’re pregnant to start a prenatal regimen either. Many doctors recommend starting a prenatal routine 2-3 months before conceiving, but you’ll certainly want to start once you’re pregnant. Prenatal vitamins contain folic acid, which has been shown to decrease the risk of neural tube defects and issues like spina bifida. Because mothers over the age of 35 are at a greater risk of having a child with birth defects, a prenatal vitamin regimen can be a great way to increase your likelihood of having a healthy pregnancy.
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Diet Improvements – Your appetite will fluctuate throughout your pregnancy, but eating for two doesn’t mean that you should indulge all of your cravings. You still want to eat a range of healthy fruits, vegetables and whole grains, as this will provide your body with nutrients like folic acid, calcium and iron, all of which support a healthy pregnancy. Your doctor will be more than happy to provide nutritional advice if your pregnancy is negatively affecting your appetite or your ability to keep food down.
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Stay Active – Staying active and exercising regularly can help reduce your risk of a number of problems that affect women of all ages. Exercise has been shown to reduce your risk of gestational diabetes, support healthy blood pressure, prevent excess weight gain and regulate your blood sugar levels.
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Strive For Healthy Sleep – We know that it’s not always easy to fall asleep and stay asleep when you’re dealing with the physical changes caused by pregnancy, but healthy sleep is especially important for pregnant women over the age of 35. Poor sleep has been linked to an increased risk of complications like preeclampsia and gestational diabetes, both of which are already more common in pregnant women over the age of 35. Strive for at least seven hours of consecutive sleep each night, but 8-9 is even better!
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Stay On Your Weight Gain Trajectory – At each of your prenatal visits, your doctor will take your weight and explain how your weight matches up with an ideal weight gain chart. Odds are you aren’t going to be perfect, but try to be mindful about how you gain weight throughout your pregnancy and aim for the individual benchmarks set by your doctor. Gaining too much weight can increase your risk of problems like gestational diabetes, hypertension and fetal macrosomia, and excess weight gain has been linked to issues during labor and delivery in women over the age of 35.