So I had my son back in August 23, 2011. He was born at 34 weeks and 1 day weighing 6 lbs 12 ozs. Even though my blood sugars were in basically perfect control with minimal spiking, my son was still large. I delivered early due to the fact that I had severe pre-eclampsia. What I'm trying to find out is a few things.
First off, I'm 27 years old. At first my husband and I were going to wait 2 to 3 years to have another one, well he approached me with having another one when our baby son is 1. If we wait the 2 to 3 years I'll be 30. Has anyone had a baby in their 30's? Did you have more of a problem with the pregnancy?
Second off, I was told that diabetes and pre-eclampsia pretty much go hand in hand. Is this true? I know I have a risk of getting again but is it because of my diabetes or just because I've already had it once before?
My daughter was born when i was 33. She was born 6 weeks early and was small. 4. 5 lbs. But I also had no prentatal care as I didn’t find out I was pregnant until i was 7 months along. History of cervical cancer and got told I couldn’t get pregant.
I’m 32 expecting my first child. So far I have had no complications and this pregnancy is going really well. I think most women “technically” are classified high risk because of age after 35. 30 is still very young to get pregnant. My husband and I want a few more children after this, age is not something I’m going to worry about. As for pre-eclampsia, I have no idea. None of my drs have mentioned to me that I might be more susceptible to it yet. I’m 30 weeks now and so far I have had no swelling and my bp has been great…
I was 31 when I had my daughter, and just found out I’m 5 weeks pregnant yesterday (I’m 35 now). Completely planned on both occasions, but minimal problems with #1 and fingers crossed with #2. Doctors have said I’m just fine to have another. I’ve been type 1 for almost 10 years and have A1cs consistently under 6.3. A1c has been a bigger issue than age to my Drs. Good luck!!!
I was just shy of turning 30 when I had my first child. My hgA1C was between 6.9-7.2% the entire pregnancy, and I never had pre-eclampsia, in fact being pregnant, was the healthiest I’ve ever felt, and I am looking forward to do it again :), we are thinking of trying next year, so that will put me at 32 or 33 years of age!
I’m 32 and pregnant with my first, due in a couple of weeks. The baby is large, but other than that I’ve had no problems so far. Diabetes does put you at greater risk for pre-eclampsia, but I think the bigger risk factor is that you’ve had pre-eclampsia before. When I was in my 20s, I asked my endo if I should try to get pregnant while I was still in my 20s, and he said it didn’t really matter, and the most important thing is being in good control, not age. Good luck!
I had Xander a couple weeks before my 32nd birthday, and everything went just fine. No complications at all, unless you count Xander not wanting to “drop” and therefore being born my C-section. My blood sugar control had been good (A1Cs of 5.2 and 5.4) during pregnancy, but definitely not perfect (I tended to spike like crazy after meals, even if it came down to a good number soon after). He was 8 pounds 10 oz, which is average for my family! I was 8 pounds 13 oz, and my brother was in that range as well. Our mom was neither diabetic or overweight. We just don’t have petite babies in this family.
I had no pre-eclampsia despite massive swelling! Pre-eclampsia doesn’t so much go hand in hand with diabetes as it does high blood pressure… And people with diabetes just tend to have higher blood pressure, more often than not. Mine has always been on the low side of normal.
I don’t think there’s any problem with waiting until your early 30s, and I’ve also known women with very successful pregnancies in their mid to late 30s. It is, however, less risky the younger you are. (After 35, for example, statistics for things like down syndrome start climbing enough to make me nervous about waiting THAT long!) I would say that, after talking to your doctor about how any issues with your health might affect timing, have your next baby when it works for your life.
By the way, I’m not saying that 35+ is extremely high risk or that the chances of down syndrome are high enough to say no to pregnancy after that. Just that the statistics increase a lot. The statistics just make a pretty big jump:
At age 25, the risk of having a baby with Down syndrome is 1 in 1,250.
At age 30, the risk is 1 in 1,000.
At age 35, the risk is 1 in 400.
At age 40, the risk is 1 in 100.
At age 45, the risk is 1 in 30.
That’s still really good odds in your late 30s! It’s just a big jump compared to stats in your 20s. (And I used to work at a non-profit where there were a lot of adults with down syndrome, and I can tell you that they can be happy and productive people!)
I’m 38 and pregnant with my second daughter. I’m at 35 weeks and have a bit of proteins in my urine but my BP is staying very nice and swelling is at minimum. I started to develop pre-eclampsia with my first daughter (had her at 35 yrs old) but only at the end of 39 weeks and delivered her at 40 weeks and 3 days.
I’ve never heard that pre-eclampsia and diabetes go hand in hand. I was one of seven T1 diabetics at the high risk clinic that delivered around the same time and I was the only one who developed pre-eclampsia. I know if you’ve had it before you are at risk of a repeat experience. My advice is cut out the salt, drink lots of water and start swimming…it helps.
I had my first baby at 26 and delivered at 25 weeks due to PE (obviously severe). I waited until I was 33 for our next - got to 34+1 on meds to fight the chance of PE (aspirin/lovenox) and was PE free Now I’m 35 and 19 weeks pregnant again, expecting to get to 35/6 weeks. So to answer your question… much better pregnancies later and older. All the best with your decisions.
I’m 34 and just had our first baby. I had an awesome pregnancy with no issues. Our baby is very healthy and was born at 37.5 weeks.
I would think anyone is at risk for pre-clampsia. Probably higher for us D’s, however if you keep your sugars in great control, eat right, exercise daily, and live a somewhat stress free life, I’m sure everything will be just perfect.
I had my first baby at 39. I take great care of myself and he was and is at a beautiful weight and the most amazing little boy. There are so many factors to consider. It is scarey. But well worth it. I love him with all my heart. Good luck.
I’m not sure about what you’ve written. I’ve always had normal blood pressure- spot on- and yet I developed pre eclempsia as well. With 6.0% control during pregnancy, minimal spikes in glucose. Delivered at 37 weeks to a 9.4 baby girl. She lost a pound of fluids in one week in hospital. I lost twenty pounds in pure fluids in two weeks. It was BAD. But, never had issues with blood pressure before- nor do I have issues with my pressure now that it’s been three months after my girl was born. The high blood pressure is a side effect of pre-eclempsia. Just don’t want misinformation out there.
LOADS of women have babies in their 30s now. It’s more and more common, as a) people get married later and later, and b) more and more women have professional goals they want to achieve first.
That said, I myself have pushed it to the limit – I’m 12.5 weeks along with my first child, and I turn 40 tomorrow. My doctors care about my T1 diabetes & Hashimoto’s waaaaaay more than about my age. I referred to myself as “elderly” to my high-risk OB and he laughed at me.
P.S. The primary problems with having a child later are a) it’s harder to get pregnant, b) it’s harder to stay pregnant (greater risk of miscarriage due to chromosomal problems), and c) the odds of trisomies like Down’s are higher.
My son came at 37 weeks and he was 8 lbs 2 oz. A good sized boy. I had had issues with my sugars more in the beginning though and pulled my A1C from I don't know what to 6.6%.
I didn't have pre-eclampsia but they were watching for it. I was borderline toxic and my blood pressure was monitored severely in the last two months - before then my blood pressure had been great. It just went through the roof one day.
I've been having issues controlling my sugars lately and there is always the worry of my blood pressure again but I plan on having another baby as soon as possible.
I’m also thinking about our next kiddo. I was 24 when I had my first. I was a hypoglycemic since jr high and around my 14-17 week I was diagnosed and put on insulin. I was on MDI’s and a very strict diet. The stress of the whole pregnancy is one of the main reasons why I didn’t wasn’t to have another baby sooner. However, now I’m thinking #2 isn’t a bad idea in the next year or two. I’m looking at different pumps and my insurance currently covers the minimed revel and animas ping. I’ve being trying to see what other moms out there though of the different pumps. My insurance does not cover the cgm and pump. It’s one or the other. That is one of the main reasons why I want the Revel because of the built in cgm. I’m just trying to get as much info as I can - since I have to have my a1c at the best level possible for 6 months before even getting the green light. Praying and researching all I can. It’s a daunting task and starting to feel overwhelming to think of going through all the appointments and disappointments again. My son was born happy and healthy at 7lbs 6oz at 39 wks. Praying for the very best for you all!!
Thanks for listening.
I too just had a baby in mid August of 2011. I had a c-section because my baby was macrosomic due to my diabetes. He was born at 37 weeks at 9lb 4oz with a 15 inch chest despite tight control. I am 38 with type II diabetes and took high doses of insulin during my pregnancy. Since having my son I am now extremely insulin resistant. I am also 10 weeks pregnant with baby #3. I am now on a pump using u500 insulin to try and have a better pregnancy than my last. My sugars are looking really good. I had my a1c down to a 5 from nearly a 10 during my last pregnancy and i'm confident I can it again,, it's 9.7 now,, I expect to see a dramatic fall when I test again in 3 weeks.
I have not experienced any pre-eclampsia in my previous pregnancies. My doc has me doing a 24 hr urine collection and I expect she'll order them throughout the pregnancy. I don't anticipate any major problems.
Now I’m 35 and 19 weeks pregnant again, expecting to get to 35/6 weeks. So to answer your question… much better pregnancies later and older. All the best with your decisions.