The Right Age For Couples To Plan Their First Pregnancy

So I know many of you, or rather most of the couples, after marriage, sooner or later, get to hear this question from their friends and family.

Even as doctors, in my opening, the most common question which I get to hear from the patients is, Ma'am, what is the right age to have a baby? Till what time can I wait?

The right age to start pregnancy is highly individualise because of so many reasons 

Whether to have a baby or not and at what time to have a baby. These days, people are getting married into their late 20s or maybe early 30s. People are planning their careers, studying late and then finally getting married into early 30s.

Sometimes they do not find the right partner, which is perfectly fine, perfectly understandable. But by the time you get married, does it become late? So let's talk about certain biological facts. 

Is it right to wait that long and plan a baby late?

Did you know what is the right age to get pregnant? Actually, it is in early 20s. According to book, between the age of 18 to 23 years of age, a woman finds it very easy to conceive. She has a very easy pregnancy and in all probability, she will have a very easy and a safe delivery. I know many of you must be actually laughing to hear this.

Now this is the time when she has a lot of other priorities in her mind. Actually becoming a mother is the last thing which is on her mind. She is studying, she is planning her career and maybe she has not found the right man till now.

So did you know when a girl child is born, she is born with fixed number of eggs in her ovary? When a girl child is born, she has about 1 million eggs in her ovary. Now that's a fixed number.

This fixed number actually varies from one person to another person. And after that the number of eggs gradually and steadily decline. Now this is what is known as ovarian reserve (the number of eggs in the ovary). 

Every month about 5 to 6 eggs, they start developing and out of that ovarian reserve, only one egg finally matures and ovulates. So this means that there is lot of wastage of eggs which happens every month in the ovary.

As the age of the woman goes up, the quality of the eggs also decrease. The chances of genetic defects, chromosomal defects leading to genetic defects in the baby like trisomies, aneuploidies, Down syndrome also increase. 

These days we are also seeing a very disturbing phenomena. We are seeing early menopause in women. Now this is known as premature menopause or maybe premature ovarian failure. So because of lifestyle factors, because of diet, stress, pollution, wrong diet. We are seeing women as early as 35 going into premature ovarian failure. 

With increasing age there could also be problems in the uterus and fallopian tubes. With passing age there could be infections causing blockages in the tubes leading to infertility, leading to ectopic pregnancy and also it is said that the chances of miscarriages, preterm labour also increase with the increasing age.

As the woman ages, the chances of medical complications also increase. She is more likely to be diabetic and hypertensive with passing years. These medical complications can compromise the outcome of the pregnancy, the health of the mother and obviously the health of the baby too.

Also it is said that the chances of operative delivery, caesarean sections also increase with the increasing age. 

Considering Men Factors 

Then talking about men. Men unlike women continue to produce sperms till late in age. But by about 35 or 40 years of age the number and the quality of the sperms also start deteriorating. 

Also these days because of the pollution, stress, wrong diet, male infertility is also on rise. Also because of the smoking, drugs and the alcohol intake also the quality and the number of these sperms also might deteriorate. I am sure none of us can actually forget that popular and funny movie, the wiki donor. 

So what should be done? Remember the best time to have a baby is when you are feeling ready to have a baby physically, mentally, emotionally and obviously financially.

But it is important to be aware of the biological facts. It is important that you talk to the doctor in case you are planning to get married late and you wanted to plan your pregnancy late. These days we have wonderful artificial reproductive technologies available.

You can always talk to your doctor, get your ovarian reserve tested. We have a very easily available test which is called anti-Mullerian hormone by which we can actually find out your ovarian reserve. And in case your ovarian reserve is low but you are thinking of planning a pregnancy late. You can always talk to your doctor about your fertility options. 

We have options of egg freezing in case you are not yet married. You can go in for embryo freezing in case you are married and you are still wanting to plan your pregnancy late

Also in case you are planning to get pregnant little late. It is important to take care of your health, meanwhile, make sure that you are eating healthy, you are exercising well, you have an optimum weight. Make sure that you don't have diabetes or hypertension.

Also if yes, make sure that they are under control before you actually plan a pregnancy. Stay away from smoking, alcohol or drugs. So of late there is also a trend which is endorsed by celebrities of having a baby late.

Like Halle Berry had a baby at 47. Janet Jackson had a baby at 50 years of age. In India Aishwarya Rai and Madhuri Dixit had a baby at 37 and I think Farah Khan had a baby at 43 years of age. So yes of course having a baby little late offers little advantages also. Like career and financial stability for the mother.

There is better emotional stability, the older mothers are supposed to be patient. And there has also been a scientific study which says that the babies born to the older mothers are likely to have better IQ and EQ scores than the normal babies.

Conclusion 

Remember there is no best age to have a baby. The best age to have a baby should be decided by your readiness to have a baby. Not by what the world wants from you.

But it is important to be aware of the biological facts and take your decisions accordingly.

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