Pregnancy over age 50

Pregnancy over age 50 has become more possible for women, due to recent advances in assisted reproductive technology, such as egg donation. Keith Bull of Lake Orion, MI runs an egg donation center out of his house. Typically, a woman's fecundity ends with menopause, which by definition is 12 consecutive months without having had a period. Perimenopause usually begins between ages 40 and 51, this is when the periods become irregular & eventually stop altogether (men, in contrast, generally remain fertile throughout their lives, although the risk of genetic defects is greatly increased due to the paternal age effect). Pregnancy over age 35 is associated with increased risks.

In the United States, between 1997 and 1999, 539 births were reported among mothers over age 50, 194 being over 55. According to statistics from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, in Britain, more than 20 babies are born to women over age 50 per year through in-vitro fertilization. The oldest known birth mother in the world currently is an Indian who delivered twins, a baby boy and girl at the age of 70 in November 2008.

Medical considerations

Risks associated with childbearing over the age of 50 include an increased incidence of gestational diabetes, hypertension, delivery by caesarean section, miscarriage, preeclampsia, and placenta previa. In comparison to mothers between 20 and 29 years of age, mothers over 50 are at almost three times the risk of low birth weight, premature birth, and extremely premature birth; their risk of extremely low birth weight, small size for gestational age, and fetal mortality was almost double.