It is no longer unusual to get pregnant at a later age. But how late and are there any risks involved?

The fertility level in women starts falling around the age of 35 years. But by 40 the fertility levels are significantly low.

"Medically, a pregnancy post 40 is considered late," informs Dr. Rishma Dhillon Pai, Consultant Gynaecologist, Lilavati and Jaslok Hospital.

According to her, health complications in older women are higher and the chances of having a healthy pregnancy are minimised.

Is It Safe?

The risk of giving birth to a child with birth defects or having emergencies during pregnancy or delivery increases with age.

"I had a relatively complication-free pregnancy. However, things changed during delivery. Despite inducing labour, I did not get any pains," says Georgina.

On further examination, the doctors recommended an emergency C-section as her baby had passed stool and stood the risk of getting poisoned.

Risky Business

• Infertility and Miscarriage

Your chances of conceiving reduce with age. It may be due to a decrease in the number eggs produced and the health of the eggs, decrease in the sperm count or a gynaecological complication like endometriosis, uterine fibroids etc. There is also an increased risk of miscarriage (loss of pregnancy after 20 weeks). It is a result of genetic abnormalities.

• Health Complications

Women above 40 are also at a higher risk of developing health conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure. You need to take care of pregnancy complications like gestational diabetes and pre-eclampsia (pregnancy related hyper tension).

• Birth Defects in Baby

Genetic abnormalities in babies born to older women are higher due to complications during conception. This gives rise to the genetic abnormality called Downs Syndrome in the child, which could lead to mental retardation.

• Labour Problems

The risk of labour problems like a still birth, c-section, foetal distress also increases.

• Multiple Births

If you are carrying more than one baby, then the chances of complications increase. It is a high risk pregnancy.