Women do not have “violent” fertility before menopause – but there may be unexpected pregnancies, even after 45

We see from time to time Media reports About celebrities in the mid -1940s. Surprising pregnancy. Or you can hear such stories from friends or relatives or see them on TV.

Menopause signals a woman’s reproductive years and naturally happens between age 45 and 55 (The average is 51). After 12 months without periods, a woman is considered menopause.

While the chance of pregnancy is very low in the years preceding menopause – the so -called menopausal transition or perimenopause – the chance is not zero.

What do we know about a chance for a natural conception after the age of 45? What is the risk?

Is there an escalate in fertility before menopause?

Hormonal changes accompanying perimenopause cause changes in the pattern of the menstrual cycle, and some suggest that it may exist “growth“In fertility in perimenopausal. But it is No evidence It exists.

In the years preceding menopause, women’s periods often become irregular and may have some with Typical symptoms Menopause such as warm and night sweats.

It can lead women to think that yes He hit the menopause And I can’t get pregnant anymore. But while pregnancy in a woman in the mid -1940s is much less likely compared to a woman aged 20 or 30, i.e. still possible.

Statistics for natural pregnancies after 45 years of age

Although women aged half to delayed 1940s sometimes have “wonderful children”, the chance of pregnancy is minimal within five to ten years preceding menopause.

A monthly chance of pregnancy in a woman aged 30 about 20%. At the age of 40 there is less than 5%, and in the age of 45 the chance is negligible.

We do not know exactly how many women will get pregnant from the middle of the 1940s, how many pregnancies at this age abort. The risk of miscarriage increases from 10% in women aged 20 to over 50% in women aged 45 years or older. In addition, some pregnancies for personal or medical reasons They are completed.

According to a review of demographic data about the age at which women had final births in several countries, the median was age 38.6 years. But the ranges of centuries reported to the last births in the reviewed research showed that a tiny part of women give birth after 45 years of age.

He seems to have many children increase childbirth after 45 years of age. A survey of 209 women in Israel, who developed spontaneously and was born after the age of 45, it was found that 81% had six or more deliveries, and almost half had 11 or more earlier deliveries.

There is no reliable data on universal births after 45 in Australia. The latest report on births in Australia shows that about 5% Children are born for women aged 40 or older.

However, most of them were probably born for women aged 40 to 45. Data also includes women who imagine supported reproductive technologies, including using donor eggs. For women aged 40, using eggs donated by a younger woman increases their chance having a child in vitro.

What to have if you experience delayed unexpected pregnancy

Unexpected pregnancy at the end of life is often a shock, and deciding what to do can be complex.

Depending on their personal circumstances, some women decide to end pregnancy. Unlike the stereotype that abortions are the most common among very juvenile women, Women aged 40–44 They are more exposed to abortion than women aged 15–19.

This can be partially explained by the fact that older women are up to ten times more vulnerable to the fetus Chromosomal abnormalities.

There is some additional risk associated with pregnancy when the mother is older. More than half of pregnancy in women aged 45 and older End with a miscarriage And some are completed if prenatal tests show that the fetus has the wrong number of chromosomes.

This is because most eggs have at this age Chromosomal abnormalities. For example, pregnancy risk Down syndrome There is one in 86 at the age of 40 compared to one in 1250 at the age of 20.

In addition to the increased risk of chromosomal abnormalities, advanced mother of mother increases the risk About childbirth, reduction of fetal growth (when the unborn child does not grow properly), premature births, throughput, pregnancy diabetes and imperial section.

However, it should be remembered that because the overall risk of all these things is tiny, even as the risk increases, and most children born for older mothers are born vigorous.

Multiple births are also more common in older women than younger women. This is because older women are more likely Slow down more than one egg If and when they are fiddled.

A study of all births in England and Wales was found women aged 45 and older It was most likely multiple births.

The risk of the birth of children prematurely and health complications is higher in twin pregnancies than a single, and the risk is the highest in women Mother’s advanced age.

What if you want to get pregnant at the age of 40?

If you want Avoid pregnancy It is recommended to apply contraception during perimenopause.

But if you want to get pregnant in the 1940s, there are several things that you can do to escalate the chance of conception and having a vigorous child.

They include Preparation for pregnancy Seeing the general doctor for Health control in Pre -Conceptiontaking Folic and iodine supplementsNot smoking, limiting alcohol consumption, maintaining vigorous weight, regular exercise and having a nutritious diet.

If you get a good news, a conversation with a doctor about what to expect and how Best manage pregnancy At the age of 40, it can aid you prepare and allow you to get personalized tips based on health and circumstances.