×
The Standard Group Plc is a multi-media organization with investments in media platforms spanning newspaper print operations, television, radio broadcasting, digital and online services. The Standard Group is recognized as a leading multi-media house in Kenya with a key influence in matters of national and international interest.
  • Standard Group Plc HQ Office,
  • The Standard Group Center,Mombasa Road.
  • P.O Box 30080-00100,Nairobi, Kenya.
  • Telephone number: 0203222111, 0719012111
  • Email: [email protected]

Best age to have a baby is…..

Pregnancy
 Ageing affects both men and women

"As far as health is concerned, 24 to 30 is the best age to get pregnant because a woman is at the peak of fertility. Too early or too late carries risks of complications," says Dr Joe Wanyoike Gichuhi, a senior lecturer in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Nairobi. As age increases, he says, so does the risk of other problems that may affect fertility such as uterine fibroids, adenomyosis and endometriosis.

The biggest risk an older women faces, though, is difficulty conceiving because of the sharp decline of fertility at 35. "A woman is born with a certain number of eggs which naturally age and die off, a process called atresia. The eggs are at their highest at 16 weeks in the female foetus, about six million. At childbirth that number has gone down to about half. By the time a woman is hitting puberty, the number has gone down further still.

That's the main cause of difficulty conceiving as a woman grows older," says Dr Wanjiru Ndegwa-Njuguna, a fertility specialist at Footsteps to Fertility Centre. "If you're over 35 and haven't been able to conceive within six months of regular intercourse then it is advisable that you see a doctor," she says. If, on the other hand, you're below 35 and haven't conceived within a year of regular intercourse, see a doctor.

I ask Peter Gichangi, an associate professor of human anatomy at the University of Nairobi, why atresia is gradual over time but rapid once a woman turns 35 and he explains that when a woman gets closer to menopause - which on average occurs between 45 and 55 years of age - the decline is much faster and that is genetically programmed so a woman doesn't make a baby when they've hit menopause. "It is a natural way of reducing the possibility of pregnancy during menopause," he says.

"Ageing affects both men and women," he adds, "the difference is for a woman, once she has hit menopause, her chances of naturally having a baby end at that point. Men produce sperm throughout their lives. A man has a potential to make a baby as long as he is alive. The sperms are probably fewer and of poor quality but still there."

Professor Gichangi explains that risks of complications such as gestational diabetes, hypertension, spontaneous abortion (or miscarriage), premature delivery, low birth weight, stillbirth and chromosomal abnormalities increase with advanced maternal age.

High-risk infants (preterm, low birth weight, multiple gestations such as twins) may continue to have health problems after hospital discharge and higher rates of hospitalisations than full-term peers, shows a study in the Journal of Pediatrics.

The biological mechanisms behind this are uncertain but experts say that it may be related to a poor uterine vascular system, and in the case of stillbirth, the association between older age and certain risk factors such as chronic diseases and medical or obstetric complications may also play a role, shows a study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Related Topics


.

Recommended Articles