Risks Involved In Delaying Motherhood
A new British study finds that many women are unaware of the potential consequences of delaying motherhood until later in life.
The study involved 724 women who were either pregnant or having trouble getting pregnant. Nearly all were aware that age affects the odds of conception. However, many were unaware that certain pregnancy complications increase with age. Additionally, many study participants had too much faith in in-vitro fertilization (IVF).
The decision to delay childbirth is a complex and personal one, but women should be fully aware of the possible risks and benefits involved, wrote the researchers in a report about the study.Â
"The results of this and other studies suggest that women should be provided with the appropriate information on the possible outcomes of a decision to delay motherhood," wrote University of Aberdeen’s Dr. Abha and his colleagues.
The researchers analyzed survey responses from 362 women receiving prenatal care, and 362 women seeking fertility counseling at the University’s medical center. The results showed that 85 percent of women with fertility problems and 76 percent of pregnant women were aware of declining fertility between the ages of 30 and 40. And most were also aware that pregnancy complications become more common with age.
However, less than half in each group were aware that age increases the need for a cesarean section and the risk of pregnancy-related diabetes, and just 20 percent knew that age increases the odds of having twins.
Maheshwari’s team also found that women tended to be overly optimistic about the success rates of IVF, with only 53 percent of women with fertility problems aware that the chances of conceiving via IVF decline between the ages of 30 and 40. Furthermore, a full 85 percent of participants believed fertility treatments could "overcome the effect of age."
In reality, however, only 25 percent to 30 percent of women in their 20s and 30s will give birth following IVF treatment, the researchers wrote. And for women over 40 the success rate is roughly 10 percent.
Widespread media reports of older women successfully conceiving through IVF may lead many to underestimate the failure rates of the method, Maheshwari and his team wrote.
"Many women are currently choosing to delay motherhood in the interests of personal and professional development.”
"Although starting a family is a personal preference, free choices cannot be made without full knowledge of their consequences."
The report was published in the October 2008 edition of the journal Fertility & Sterility.
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