What are the risks getting pregnant and giving birth later in life?

Genetic issues: We know now that the biggest risk factors for a poor pregnancy outcome are: obesity, hypertension, and diabetes. With older moms come older eggs, which means older chromosomes...And a higher risk of things like downs syndrome. However, if moms over 35 have a normal prenatal screening and are in great shape, they can expect the same pregnancy outcome as younger moms.

Over age 35-40: Advanced maternal age also puts women/pregnancies at increased risk of diabetes in pregnancy, pre-eclampsia (pih), problems with labor and higher rates of c-section, and problems with fetal growth. Make sure you are being followed closely by an obstetrician and if needed, a meternal fetal medicine (mfm) specialist.