Advanced Maternal Age: Myth, Medical Fact, or Something in Between?
For generations, women have been told there is a “right” time to become a mother. But whose timeline is it?
For some women, motherhood comes earlier. For others, education, career, financial stability, relationships or simply feeling ready may mean starting a family later. Today, pregnancy after 35 is increasingly common.
Yet women who become pregnant after 35 may encounter the term “advanced maternal age.” While it can sound alarming, it is a medical classification, not a diagnosis or a prediction that something will go wrong.
Dr Aklima Zakaria Zinan, Assistant Professor of Gynaecology and Obstetrics at Bangladesh Medical College Hospital, explains that the classification reflects natural biological changes that occur with age. “The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists have set the benchmark for advanced maternal age pregnancy to be from 35 onwards,” she says.
Age can increase the likelihood of certain complications, including miscarriage, gestational diabetes, high blood pressure, pre-eclampsia, restricted fetal growth and premature birth. The risk of miscarriage, according to Dr Zinan, can rise substantially after 45, reaching as high as 53 percent.
But higher risk does not mean inevitable risk. Many women in their late 30s and early 40s have healthy pregnancies and babies. Overall health, existing conditions and access to quality prenatal care also matter.
This is why the conversation should not be about telling women when they should become mothers. It should be about ensuring they have accurate information, respectful healthcare and the freedom to make informed reproductive choices.
The right to decide if, when and how many children to have is central to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). Women considering pregnancy later in life should have access to preconception counselling, fertility information, appropriate screening and quality antenatal care without stigma or judgement.
Age may be a medical factor, but it should never define a woman’s reproductive choices. Supporting women means giving them the knowledge, care and autonomy to decide when motherhood is right for them.
Source: The Daily Star