Some things that were very easy in our 20′s – losing those last 10 pounds, pulling an all-nighter and being bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for work at 9 AM, conceiving a baby – suddenly become difficult as we get older.

Why is it more challenging to conceive after 35, and even more so at or after the age of 40?

Women are born with as many eggs as we will ever have. As we age, we may have cycles where an egg is not released. These begin around the age of 35 and grow more frequent over time. The quality of existing eggs also declines, creating additional challenges. The chance of miscarriage in a woman over 35 is 20% to 35%.

Other factors that can lead to decreased fertility in “older” women are:

• Decreased cervical fluid which helps transport sperm through the cervix

• Increased chance of surgery, which created scar tissue around the cervix or fallopian tubes

• Endometriosis (which is a leading cause of infertility in women of any childbearing age)

• Heart disease, diabetes and other health problems that become more prevalent with age

It’s important to note that fertility declines gradually as we get older. It’s not like a switch flips on our 35th birthday and suddenly our odds of conceiving drop. For instance, all other factors being equal, a healthy 35-year-old woman has a better chance of conceiving than a healthy 40-year-old. This may sound depressing, but it’s actually good news. If you are over 35 and deciding on when to start trying for a child, the time is now! In fact, the March of Dimes Web site reports that 1 in 5 women has her first child over the age of 35. Women are waiting longer to begin their families, and this offers many benefits.

Women over 35 are:

• More financially stable, in general

• More established in their careers, so a break for maternity leave may not be as much of a setback

• Have done a lot more, so won’t feel as if they are “missing out” or “giving anything up” to have kids

Whether you are minutes away from menopause or years, there are things you can do to increase your odds of conception.

Be patient – While most couples conceive within 6 months, it can take a healthy couple over the age of 35 as long as one or two years to conceive. If you’ve been trying for six months with no luck, however, you may want to visit a fertility specialist for an assessment.

Have a preconception doctor’s visit – While this typically isn’t necessary in a woman under 35, a general health assessment from a professional can get you on the right track with a healthy diet and exercise program and the knowledge that there are no obvious obstacles to fertility.

Be healthy – Make sure your weight and BMI are within the healthy range, and give up bad habits such as smoking and drinking. A healthy diet can lead to an easier pregnancy for anyone, and especially for women over 35.

Track your fertility – Use any number of available methods to track your fertility so that you will know when – and if – you are ovulating. Be vigilant about having intercourse prior to and during your time of ovulation to increase your odds of conceiving during any cycle.

Take prenatal vitamins – Again, this is good advice for any woman trying to conceive, but can especially increase the odds of a rapid conception and a healthy pregnancy for a woman over 35. It is especially important to get enough folic acid, which decreases the risks of certain genetic disorders. For more tips on prenatal nutrition and exercise, read the article “Nutrition and Trying to Conceive.”

Also be aware that a pregnancy over the age of 35 carries increased risks of:

• Miscarriage

• Down’s syndrome and other genetic disorders

• premature delivery

• Twins

• Delivery by c-section

However, tests and screening can provide peace of mind that your baby is healthy, while a healthy lifestyle and positive outlook increases the odds that your pregnancy will go smoothly.

Author: Dawn Allcot

To start, during the second trimester, normally around your 23rd week of pregnancy your doctor will give you a blood test to determine your blood glucose level. This number is what tells the doctor if you have gestational diabetes or not. Gestational diabetes is caused by your body not being able to create and use all the insulin it needs for the pregnancy. Without insulin, glucose can not leave the body and it builds up to high levels. This is called hyperglycemia.

The risk to your baby from gestational diabetes is not as severe as the risk to your baby if you have diabetes prior to getting pregnant. Because your baby is done forming by the time gestational diabetes begins, birth defects are not probable, but there are other problems that may occur. As glucose can go through the placenta to the baby it gives an excess energy supply to your baby. Since your baby doesn’t need the extra energy, the energy from the glucose is changed into fat, which results in a large birth weight for your baby. Having an overweight baby at birth can lead to problems when it travels down the birth canal, including possible shoulder injuries, and breathing problems. It can also lead to overweight children, and children who develop type 2 diabetes as adults.

If your doctor tells you that you have gestational diabetes you should start treatment immediately. Treatment includes a special diet and meal plans designed to keep the sugar levels down. It also includes exercise and physical activity. Treatment helps you to avoid a c-section because of a too-large baby, while it also gives you a chance for a healthy pregnancy and birth, and a healthy baby.

Happily, gestational diabetes appears during pregnancy and normally goes away after you deliver your baby. However, once you develop gestational diabetes, you have a very good chance of getting it again in subsequent pregnancies. Having gestational diabetes can also lead to the possibility of your having type 2 diabetes later in life. There are certain things you may be able to do to help avoid either of these conditions.

• Lose weight
• Get Regular exercise
• Maintain a healthy nutrition

If your doctor tells you that you have gestational diabetes, don’t panic! With early diagnosis, you’ll be able to make changes to your diet and lifestyle, and properly take care of yourself and your unborn baby.

Breastfeeding, has long been considered the healthiest option for babies, and has been recently found to reduce the odds of children growing up obese.

While chubby babies are cute a fat baby is not necessarily a healthy baby, there are limits.

One possible explanation of the link between bottle-fed babies and obesity is that parents may tend to keep feeding a baby until a bottle is empty. Babies on the bottle may be developing larger appetites. Bottles are an easy solution when attempting to quiet restless babies, when hunger might not be the problem.

Breastfed babies also have greater control over the amount of milk they consume, choosing whether or not to nurse, which may lead to better appetite control in the future. Another guess is that breast milk could contain ingredients that program the baby’s metabolic rate.

Normal amounts of weight gain in a newborn baby, after the mother’s supply of milk has increased, is anywhere from one-half to one ounce per day until the baby reaches three months of life, after which weight increases should gradually taper off.

Parents should follow clues such as restlessness and sucking on fingers to let them know when a baby is hungry, rather than feeding them too much from a bottle. A good guideline for breastfeeding newborns is once every two to three hours, for a total of 8 to 12 feedings in 24 hours.

Breastfeeding should be used exclusively for the first six months of life and should continue for at least one year, slowly introducing juice and solid food. Up to your baby’s first birthday breast milk should make up 80% of your baby’s diet.

Breast milk protects against a number of other illnesses in babies besides obesity, including type-1 diabetes, ear infections, lymphoma and diarrhea. In order to inform and teach people about the benefits of breastfeeding, the American Academy of Pediatrics designates each August as National Breastfeeding Month.

Why does breastfeeding have that added benefit? One reason is that it is believed that when a baby is attached to the breast and nursing, they quit when they are full. However, when a parent is feeding a bottle to their baby they often try to feed their baby until the bottle is empty, many times overfeeding the baby. This can teach their baby that they need to keep eating, even when they feel satisfied.

It is speculated that breast milk may contain ingredients that help control a baby’s metabolic rate, therefore helping to control their future weight gain. Because no one knows exactly what breast milk is made up of, it can not be duplicated to an exact copy by formula manufacturers like Enfamil. Because breast milk is genetically different and altered for each baby, there is no way for formula to be as good for your baby as breast milk.

Breast milk also helps prevent diabetes, ear infections, and diarrhea in babies. Besides being healthy for your baby, it is cheapest and easiest way to feed your baby. With health and convenience all taken care of, and the risk of obesity being lowered by breastfeeding, why would someone who could breastfeed make the choice to NOT breastfeed their baby?