When time is not on women’s side

Fionnuala Quinlan says that middle-age pregnancy is fraught with problems

MARTHA was 44 when she became pregnant with her third child an event which she says surpassed her achievements in college and business.

But like most women her age she had to weigh up the many risks associated with late pregnancies and decide, along with her husband, whether to steel themselves for what could prove a heart-breaking failure.

Martha is expecting the baby next week and is proud to admit this pregnancy has been the easiest of all three.

"I weighed up the risks against the benefits for myself and the baby and decided that this was right for me at the moment. I love that situation (pregnancy) and it was more attractive to me than any job or any business," she said.

It is the one thing in my life that makes me very, very happy," she said.

Like a growing number of Irish women, Martha spent her 20s in college and doing post-graduate work. She got married in her early 30s and had her first child at the age of 34, followed by her second five years later.

"After going through university and being in business for 10 years, I realised I was missing out on something that was very basic to my needs. I have two children already and we have a great family relationship and I just wanted to have another baby," she told Gerry Ryan yesterday.

"I have no regrets about my career because I was able to do it all together, but I do feel sorry for women who can't get pregnant after spending their 20s and 30s in college or on their career," she said.

Statistics show that Martha unlike thousands of other middle-aged women is among the lucky ones who succeed in becoming pregnant and carrying a child to full term.

Head of the Irish Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Prof John Bonnar said that women aged between 40 and 45 have a one-in-three chance of miscarrying, while the risk factor rises to one-in-two after the age of 45.

"A lot of career women now don't get married until their 40s and it is a difficult situation. It is the doctor's duty to explain all the risks and the facts and allow the woman to make her decision," he said.

While younger women face a 10% to 15% risk of suffering a miscarriage, the likelihood increases in tandem with age. The risk of the baby having a genetic abnormality, such as Downs Syndrome, is also much higher.

"For younger women the odds are high that they will have a normal pregnancy, but that isn't the case for women over 40. Their fertility is reducing and they are producing fewer healthy eggs, which is probably the reason," he said.

Prof Bonnar says the majority of gynaecologists see women in their 40s who are anxious to give birth, half of whom have to come to terms with the fact it is too late.

"There is not much we can do to change the situation. It is a genetic fact and ultimately some of them just have to accept that fact. But it is very, very distressing for them. For most women, a miscarriage is like a bereavement they have lost their baby," he said.

However, Prof Bonnar stressed that one in two women aged over 45 will succeed in conceiving and giving birth and said that after three months, if the foetus is developing normally, the prospects of a successful birth increase. Many miscarriages are caused by chromosomal abnormalities, which stop the foetus from developing, he said.

Meanwhile Cherie Blair, who suffered a miscarriage on Monday, was still recovering from her operation yesterday. She is expected to shortly leave for Toulouse with her husband to join their four children on holiday.