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Jan 3, 2024 · If you’re not pregnant but haven’t gotten your period, you may have something called amenorrhea — the medical term for lack of a menstrual cycle. Amenorrhea is not a disease, but it is typically a symptom of another condition.
People also ask
Can you get pregnant at 50?
Can you get pregnant the old-fashioned way into your 50s?
Are You at risk of having a baby in your 50s?
May 1, 2023 · If you are trying to get pregnant after age 50, you will probably need some fertility help. While it's not impossible to become pregnant naturally at 50, it is very rare. Women are born with...
Mar 19, 2021 · If you’re pregnant at an older age, or hoping to be, know that while you can’t turn back your biological clock, you can do your part to get your body in better condition. Staying healthy is ...
- Michele Jordan
- It’s becoming more common
- What are the benefits to having a baby later in life?
- But there are some things to consider
- How to get pregnant at 50
- Distinguishing between pregnancy symptoms and menopause
- What will pregnancy be like?
- Are there any special concerns relating to labor and delivery?
- The takeaway
Having a baby after age 35 is more common than ever, but the buck doesn’t stop there. Plenty of women are successfully having babies in their 40s and 50s, too.
We’ve all heard about the tick-tock, tick-tock of that “biological clock,” and it’s true — age can make a difference in terms of natural conception. But thanks to reproductive technologies, one-upping nature and waiting until the timing is right — even if that’s when you’re in your 40s or even after you’ve hit the big 5-0 — may be a real option.
While people have traditionally had children in their 20s and 30s, many feel that there are some advantages to waiting — or adding another child to the family years after you’ve had your first.
You may wish to travel, establish or advance your career, or become more comfortable with your own identity before initially starting a family. These are all popular reasons for putting off first-time parenthood.
Or, you may find a partner later in life and decide you want children together. Or — and this is completely legit! — you may not want kids when you’re younger, and then change your mind.
When you’re in your 40s and 50s, you’re perhaps more likely to have the financial stability and flexibility that can make it easier to care for children. You’ll also have more life experiences. (Just don’t think this means you’ll have all of the answers when it comes to parenting — we’ve yet to meet someone who does!)
Having children with a large gap in their ages also has benefits that appeal to many families. A mix of older and younger children allows for the older ones to take a more active role in caring for a new little one.
And if you already have children when you get pregnant in your 40s or even 50s, you’ll love the joys of parenthood all over again — and likely with less stress than the first time around!
While having a baby later in life can be easier in some respects, it may also be more difficult to conceive. Your pregnancy will also automatically be considered high risk.
Some of the risks of having babies in your 50s include:
•preeclampsia (a type of high blood pressure that develops during pregnancy that can become life-threatening)
•gestational diabetes
•ectopic pregnancy (when the egg is attached outside of your uterus)
•higher risk of needing a cesarean delivery
Biologically speaking, we’re born with all the eggs we’ll ever have. Once we hit puberty and start menstruating, we’ll generally release a mature egg each cycle. But the drop in egg count is even more dramatic than that, and our numbers will lower each year until we hit menopause.
In fact, it’s estimated the average woman has just 1,000 oocytes (also called egg cells) by the time she reaches age 51. This is a drastic drop from 500,000 during puberty and 25,000 in your mid-30s.
While getting pregnant with fewer egg cells isn’t impossible, it may mean that you’ll have a bit more trouble pregnant naturally.
Egg quality also decreases as we age, which can make conception difficult or increase the risk of chromosomal abnormalities, which can make early pregnancy loss more likely.
The general advice is to see a fertility specialist if you’ve tried to conceive naturally for six months without any results and you’re over age 35.
However, if you’re actively trying to conceive in your 50s, you may want to talk to your doctor about seeing a fertility specialist even sooner, due to the rapid depletion of oocytes.
A pregnancy test — one done at home and then verified at your doctor’s office — is the only surefire way to determine if you’re truly pregnant.
You don’t want to go by symptoms alone because the early signs of pregnancy can be similar to those of menopause. These include mood changes and fatigue — which can also signal your period is coming, for that matter.
Remember that true menopause doesn’t occur until you’ve going without your period 12 months in a row. If your periods are hit and miss, you could be in the perimenopause stage where you still have eggs left.
As a rule of thumb, if you’re still menstruating, you still have eggs and can very well get pregnant.
As your body ages, carrying another human being inside you can be a bit more challenging. You might be even more susceptible to pregnancy discomforts such as:
•fatigue
•muscle aches
•joint pain
•swollen legs and feet
•irritability and depression
After age 50, there are additional risks to consider related to labor and delivery. You’re more likely to have a cesarean delivery due to your age and prior fertility treatments, which can cause preeclampsia.
Another reason for a c-section is placenta previa, a condition where the placenta covers the cervix. Premature birth is also a higher possibility, which can then necessitate a c-section, too.
While not necessarily easy, if you want to have a baby in your 50s and you haven’t hit menopause yet, you certainly have options. Before you try to conceive, talk to your doctor about your health and whether there are any risk factors that could interfere.
The number of eggs you have naturally decline exponentially throughout your 40s and 50s. So if you haven’t had luck conceiving naturally within a few months, ask your OB-GYN for a referral to a fertility specialist. If you don’t already have an OB-GYN, the Healthline FindCare tool can help you find a physician in your area.
Jul 30, 2022 · In the United States, the average age of menopause is 51. However, some people reach menopause as early as 35 or as late as 60. Symptoms such as hot flashes, disrupted sleep, fluctuating moods, and irregular periods are all indications that you might have begun the menopause transition.
Aug 16, 2020 · So, how likely are you truly to be able to get pregnant naturally at age 50 and beyond? If you're an average 30-year-old woman, you have a 20 percent chance of getting pregnant every given month , providing you're having regular unprotected sex and your partner is also fertile.
Jul 31, 2020 · Most women reach this milestone somewhere between their late 40s and early 50s, with an average age of around 51 years old. So, it’s entirely possible to get pregnant the old-fashioned way into...
