Advanced Maternal Age

Women in the United States ar experiencing unprecedented opportunities to pursue education and professional c beers. One authority down side to this situation is that women find themselves putting off start signal a family until they complete their education and feel comfortable in their employment. In many cases this can extend into the womanhoods late 30s or even early 40s. Advanced maternal grow whitethorn also have negative effects on cornucopia and the outcomes of a successful pregnancy. Considering all the factors, a woman should consider putting off starting a family and build a career as colossal as she has educated herself on all the risks of advanced maternal get along with.For years, women have been under the arrogance that as long as they were bearing children under the age of 35, fertility and child mortality were at a minimum. Recent studies have shown that this assumption is furthest from the truth and may eliminate childbearing for those women who wait int o their late 30s and early 40s to start having children. Education for women by gynecologists and obstetricians has been poor and most women are . . . surprisedeven shockedto learn that fertility begins to fall in their late 20s (Hatcher, 2002). closely women are purpose out too late that they have simply put off having children too long and are now unable to bear children without intervention. Fertility treatments are an expensive option, but are only available to those that can afford the treatments that insurance does not cover.Pregnancies that do occur at advanced maternal age have lower success rates. increase maternal age, typically over the age of 35, carries steeper chances of miscarriage higher increases in pregnancy complications like high blood pressure, diabetes, and placental problems and increased chance of having a child with a chromosomal disorder (Childrens Specialist, 2007). The good news is that medical advances in antepartum and perinatal care have diminished the effects that many of these complications have on pregnancies at advanced maternal age. Safe pregnancies after the age of 35 are occurring at much higher rates with advanced blood testing and ultrasounds that discontinue early detection and treatment of potential problems.For many fresh women, pursuing education and professional careers are the norm. More women than ever in history are pursuing careers, not just jobs that add extra income. Most career paths take years to build in order to reach the top of success. The drive to achieve and succeed has pushed many women toward putting off starting a family till their careers are firmly on track. With medical care helping to make child bearing in later years safer, women are choosing to put careers before family. There are many advantages for women to wait to start a familyFinancial stability Relationship stability Increased maturity Increased life experiences Larger support networks Better education Although these advantages may be present for a younger mother, the chance of a woman having all the advantages increases with age. These advantages allow the mother to provide the best possible start for the child and to be the best mother she has the potential to be.The predicament remains that when women take themselves out of the custody to bear a child, a disadvantage occurs when compared to male counterparts. An argument can be made that a woman with an established career and older age may have a better chance of regaining status once she returns to work due to her previous proven results and successes. A younger woman just starting out in a career and taking a leave of absence to bear a child will not have a consistent track record to fall back on once she returns to work. The advantage that an advance maternal age woman has may be the difference between a successful return to a career rather than being passed over for those who are not choosing to bear children. The dilemma to put off childbearing loom s large for many career women and must be considered along with the risks of advanced maternal age.There is hope for women who choose to honor twain children and careers. Proper education, healthy lifestyles, current medical advances, and pure determination help women of advanced maternal age have the balanced lives they desire. While it is true that fertility declines in the late 20s and that . . . women perform best at childbearing when they are young. . . (Gosden, 1995), these factors should not be the only consideration when choosing between careers and families. For reasons stable far from clear, human evolution has allowed the female reproductive system to age faster than other body parts (Gosden, 1995). The mental aspect of child procreation and career advancement need to be fully considered. Physically, advanced maternal age does carry risks to some(prenominal) mother and fetus, but medical advances have badly reduced the chances of unsuccessful pregnancy outcomes. Ment ally, women who have built successful careers are better fit to raise children in later years rather than cannonball along to bear children in early years to avoid the physical risk.In all, advanced maternal age carries risks with fertility and successful pregnancy outcomes, but as long as the woman is educated on these risks, putting off child bearing should be considered in order to foster a successful career. medical advances have decreased pregnancy risks and advanced maternal age women should take full advantage to have a balanced life filled with both career and family.ReferencesChildrens Specialists. 2007. Pregnancy over the Age of 35. San Diego Perinatal Center. Accessed on February 12, 2007 from http//childrensspecialists.com/body.cfm?id=460Top.Gosden, R. 1995. Delayed Childbearing. BMJ. Accessed on February 12, 2007 from http//www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/311/7020/1585.Hatcher, T. 2002. Careers and Babies Fertility Decline Underscores Dilemma. CNN Health whitethorn 2, 2002. Accessed on February 12, 2007 from http//archives.cnn.com/2002/HEALTH/04/30/fertility.women/index.html .