How to get pregnant after 40: advice from gynecologists

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Is it possible to get pregnant after 40? This question is asked by women who initially decided to devote themselves to a career, and then to motherhood. The same question torments women who either want more children when the elders have already grown up, or doubt whether it is necessary to take contraceptives while having sex. There is a chance of getting pregnant after 40 years if menopause has not yet begun, and the menstrual cycle is without disturbance. There is a huge chance of becoming a mother at this age if there are no bad habits, and the woman adheres to a he althy lifestyle in general. In this article, we propose to learn how to get pregnant after 40 years. But besides this, at the end of the article it will be possible to get acquainted with the possible risks for both the woman in labor and the child during late pregnancy.

Gynecological consultation

It is possible to get pregnant after 40, but you should not act without consulting a doctor. You need to inform your gynecologist about the desire to become a mother at this age. The doctor will prescribe the necessary tests, which will show whether the body is ready to bear the child. If the resultsanalyzes are bad, then the gynecologist will tell the woman about this and warn about the risks that may arise in relation to the he alth of the woman herself and the planned child. The specialist will advise you to avoid pregnancy, because your own he alth is more important, and the child may be born with abnormalities.

You can always get custody of an orphan and fully raise a child while remaining a he althy woman. If such a prospect does not suit you, and the woman still wants to give birth to a child on her own, using at least one chance to get pregnant after 40 years, then the specialist will offer to undergo a full examination.

What can interfere with pregnancy?

If a woman under 40 has not had a single pregnancy, and at this age she decided to use all options to become a mother, then she will need to undergo a full diagnostic study. Perhaps there are violations in any organ. which may interfere with reproduction. There is a possibility that the woman or her partner is infertile. There are situations when the he alth of the partners is good, but they are simply not suitable for each other in terms of conceiving a child. If the problem is in the latter, then the gynecologist will advise you to use IVF, which we will talk about later.

Chance to get pregnant after 40 years is for all women who already have children and who do not have irregular periods. Most forty-year-olds cannot get pregnant for one reason - the ovulation period is incorrectly calculated, the most favorable day for conception. As women age, there are fewer and fewer days in the year thatfavorable for conceiving a child, and the farther from the age of forty, the less chance there is to become a mother, because there can be only 1-2 such days in a year.

The hormonal background is changing, the number of eggs that can be fertilized is getting smaller, and some of them have an abnormal structure that will cause deviations in the he alth of the child. Changes occurring in the uterus prevent it from accepting and carrying the embryo. There is a huge risk of preterm birth even in the early stages of pregnancy. All these factors affect the ability to become pregnant after 40 years and bear a child. The risks associated with late pregnancy will be discussed later in the content.

How to get pregnant after 40?

To maximize the chances of conceiving and bearing a child, it is necessary to go through several stages during pregnancy planning:

1. To be examined together with a partner and, if any diseases are detected, undergo treatment.
2. If you plan to become pregnant, you will need to adjust your weight. Neither extra pounds nor their lack contribute to conception and successful gestation. If there is excess weight, then it is necessary to lose it, if there is a lack, it must be replenished. Choose only high-quality and he althy foods for your diet, stick to proper nutrition.
3. Lifestyle needs to be made more mobile if the work does not require stress. Walk more, breathe fresh air, do gymnastics, do morning exercises, focusing on strengthening your back and abdominal muscles. But do not overexert yourself, try to get enough sleep, do not lift weights, rest if you are tired.
4. Quit bad habits completely, including morning coffee.
5. Exclude from the menu all processed foods, fatty, spicy and s alty foods, as well as foods with dyes and preservatives.
6. Consult your doctor about taking supplemental vitamins and minerals, including fertility and fertility supplements.

If a woman at the age of 40 became pregnant after an abortion, which was at least a month, at least five years ago, you will need to especially take care of yourself. In the first trimester, minimal activity is recommended, more rest, preferably bed rest. The embryo should get stronger, as well as the walls of the uterus.

Folk methods for successful conception

If a woman already has children, the pregnancy was going well, all tests are perfect at the moment and there are no diseases, but it is not possible to conceive a child after 40 years, then low fertility is to blame. It reaches its peak at the age of 20-25 years, and after 30 years it rapidly decreases. Is it possible to get pregnant after 40? Of course, there are chances, but you need to try to increase fertility, and folk methods will help in this.

1. Eat more vitamin E. You can buy capsules, or you can simply add pumpkin pulp, sea buckthorn berries to your diet. This vitamin is found in sea buckthorn leaves and rose petals, make decoctions and drink instead of tea.
2. Our grandmothers fought infertility with decoctions of herbs, infor these purposes are used: sage, knotweed, red brush, upland uterus.
3. Where traditional medicine fails, wheat juice will help. It increases the reproductive ability of the body at times, if you drink half a glass every morning.
4. Inflammation of the ovaries, even in the past, can make it impossible to get pregnant. A decoction of the collection of coltsfoot, sweet clover, chamomile and marigolds will help.

Is it easy to get pregnant after 40 if the cycle is still running smoothly and the body is completely he althy? In this case, the chances of conception are very high, and if the plans do not have a child, then you need to use contraceptives, and not rely on low fertility.

Folk omens for successful conception

As funny as it may sound to some, women who want to get pregnant and fail to get pregnant are ready to go to any lengths. Here are some folk tips that you can use to conceive a baby at any age:

• in the bedroom you need to put a willow branch brought from the church;
• touch the belly of a pregnant woman after asking permission beforehand;
• drink with a pregnant woman from one glass (after pregnant);
• wait for a pregnant woman to get up from her seat and sit on it.

Many believe that using such methods, it turns out to get pregnant quickly even after 40 years. You can find a lot of stories where women tell that they managed to get pregnant almost immediately after, for example, they drank water from the same mug with a future mother, and beforethis was many years of unsuccessful attempts. Do these methods work or is it just a coincidence? We can only guess!

Folk methods and advice help only when there are no serious diseases and disorders that prevent fertilization from both the woman and the man. Many couples have already tried everything on the way to family happiness, but they have only one chance to get a long-awaited baby - IVF.

What are the indications for artificial insemination?

How to get pregnant after 40 if none of the methods help? They may prescribe IVF, or they may not, because there are indications for it.

1. Tubal-peritoneal factor is a malfunction of the uterine tubes. There are two ways to conceive: restore patency when contacting a surgeon or perform IVF. It is tubal obstruction that is the most common indication for IVF.
2. Endometriosis. There are also two ways here: surgical treatment of the disease, and then with medications, or IVF - to conceive a baby.
3. Anovulation is a violation of ovulation. There are the simplest methods of its restoration: stimulation and intrauterine insemination. But if such methods did not help to conceive a child, then IVF is prescribed.
4. The male factor. There is such a thing as "lazy sperm", when the quantity and quality of the seminal fluid cannot allow the egg to be fertilized naturally.
5. Unexplained infertility - unknown genesis. It happens that a married couple cannot conceive children, but tests say that allOK. With such inexplicable infertility, the couple is offered to try IVF.
6. Age factor. Can a woman get pregnant after 40 naturally? It happens that it can, but it happens that it doesn’t - the reasons that prevent conception after 40 years are listed above. If you can’t get pregnant, then doctors will recommend IVF.

Is IVF successful after 40?

There are a lot of discussions about the possibilities of getting pregnant between women of mature age. In some matters, the arguing may be absolutely right, while in others they are completely wrong. Each individual case of the possibility of becoming pregnant and bearing a baby must be considered separately. Here it is necessary to be based on a medical point of view, but not age. If the body is he althy, there are no severe disturbances in its work, and the woman is ready to bear and raise a baby, then all possibilities for conception should be considered.

In most cases, even the first IVF in women over 40 is successful. Perhaps the fact is that mature and experienced ladies are much more serious about the issue of motherhood than young and carefree girls. They fulfill all the prescriptions of doctors without deviating even a millimeter from the plan, so the chances of conception and successful bearing after artificial insemination are very high.

An obstacle to IVF after 40 years of age may be the lack of he althy and full-fledged eggs. But even in this case, you do not need to worry, you will be offered donor material. With the help of foreign eggs, every woman canendure and give birth, if not genetically, but still your child!

Contraindications for IVF

As with any procedure, artificial insemination has its own indications and contraindications. We have already considered the first point, now we will find out what can cause doctors to refuse to give a referral for IVF.

• mental and physical illnesses that do not allow to bear and raise a baby normally;
• neoplasms on the ovaries, malignant tumors in any organ;
• impossibility of bearing due to congenital pathology or acquired deformity of the uterus;
• any localization of acute inflammatory diseases;
• benign tumors of the uterus that need to be removed promptly;
• if ever a woman had malignant neoplasms in her life.

There is one temporary contraindication in the list - a benign tumor. After its removal and rehabilitation, artificial insemination can be performed. For other pathologies, IVF is not performed due to the possibility of a deterioration in the woman's condition.

Risks of late pregnancy for women

We have addressed the question of whether a woman can become pregnant after 40 years of age. There are many ways for fertilization, you just need to take care of your he alth and follow the recommendations of doctors. But before thinking about how to get pregnant after 40, you need to evaluate all the possible he alth risks for both the woman and her planned child.

According to statistics, only 7 out of 1000pregnancies of women over 40 years of age pass without complications. This is due to the he alth of women in labor, including many diabetics, with cardiovascular and other diseases. But, according to statistics, more and more women are postponing the birth of a baby to a later date. So, today the average age of a young mother is 30 years old, while 10 years ago, twenty-year-olds predominated.

How can late pregnancy be complicated for a woman?

1. Miscarriage at any time. After 30 years, women lose babies in 17% of cases, but over 40 - in 33% of cases.
2. Chronic placental insufficiency, premature detachment and previa.
3. During pregnancy, the course of chronic diseases is exacerbated.
4. High risk of preeclampsia and diabetes.
5. Complications during childbirth. Often, women over 40 cannot give birth on their own, and a caesarean section is required.
6. Hypertension.
7. Bleeding.

What is the danger of late pregnancy for the baby?

The later a couple plans to have a baby, the higher the risk of having a child with chromosomal abnormalities. But this is the rarest complication, it happens more often:

• early birth - a premature baby will require more care and attention;
• risk of infant death during early birth;
• low weight baby;
• fetal hypoxia during pregnancy due to placental insufficiency, its detachment and presentation;
• baby hypoxia at birth.

Despite the fact that some women after 40 years of age fail to get pregnant, or they are afraid of complications, many try to conceive a child. You can't give up on the dream of breastfeeding your baby because of fears of risk or refusal of treatment or IVF.