Statistics for pregnancy and labor outcome for women having first babies over the age of thirty-five are varied and inconclusive. Though there is a higher rate of complication in labor including a greater number of cesarean sections for older women, statistics do not separate out women who are healthy during their pregnancies from women who experience other medical problems, such as diabetes and toxemia. Most authorities on this topic agree that if you are generally healthy, get exercise and maintain a healthy diet your chances of having a normal labor should not be any different now than when you were twenty-five. However neither of these viewpoints address the special emotional concerns and stresses which are a reality for the woman having her first child later in life. These are important to consider since attention to emotional concerns can decrease anxiety which could otherwise contribute to difficulties in labor.
Women having children later in life come to parenthood with a different perspective.
Work and career have often played a large part in women's lives by the time they reach their mid-thirties. The life changes for women who have established careers or work activities before having children are very different from the changes of women who are still in early adulthood. Women in my practice who are having babies later in life commonly have feelings of greater loss of their previous lifestyle. Their work and career identities are more established and so they often have greater adjustments to make to new motherhood. Even when career goals are not a concern, mid-life is a different time in the life cycle to give birth.