Mother's Age/Health in Pregnancy
Cheyenne N. Bishop
Keeping in mind your age and what risks come with your age when pregnant is important to the heath of your baby. Choosing the right time is very important. An also important thing to keep track of is your health. The more healthy you are, the less likely the fetus and baby will have issues.
Does the age of the mother effect the health of the Fetus/Baby?
Having a baby as a teenager.
Having a baby during the time that a mother is still a teenager can lead to more risks to the baby/fetus. One of these risks is low birth-weight for the baby. Teen mothers are more likely to not gain enough weight. Low birth weight can lead to other complications including having the baby have risks of organs that are not fully developed, which can result in complications, such as bleeding in the brain, respiratory distress syndrome, and intestinal problems. A baby born with low birth weight may need to stay in the hospital for close monitoring until the baby has gained enough weight. There is not much you can do to prevent having a baby with these risks other then waiting later on to have children but you can not 100 percent control if you get pregnant if you have intercourse. This can be both a genetic influence and a environmental influence. Like i said before you can't 100 percent control if you get pregnant if you have intercourse so in that way it is a genetic influence. But it could also be considered a environmental influence because you might feel pressured to have a baby as a teen.
Having a Baby at the ages 20-29.
If you don't have any health issues the risks for having a baby at this time is not extravagant. The miscarriage rate at this time is from 9.5 percent - 10 percent which is the lowest it will ever be. Baby's diagnosed with Down Syndrome is 1 in 1,667 births among women age 20, At age 25, your chances of delivering a baby with Down syndrome are 1 in 1,250 . At age 20 the chances of having a baby with chromosomal abnormalities 1 in 526 among women age 20. There is a 1 in 476 chance of having a baby with any chromosomal abnormality at age 25. There is really nothing you can do to keep yourself from being 100 percent free from these risks.
Having a Baby at age 30
The miscarriage rate is 11.7 percent. By age 30 your risk of having a baby with Down syndrome is 1 in 952, and a baby with any chromosomal abnormality, 1 in 385.