Sometimes the word perimenopause itself may sound a disappointing event in some women but when the event comes to perimenopause and pregnancy, this becomes a bigger issue that entails a larger consideration and care on the part of the woman. Perimenopause is the state wherein a woman can initially experience the early signs of menopause so it happens at an earlier age when the average age for menopause is fifty one. So judging from the onset of perimenopause, it can be experienced during the late 30s to late 40’s and this is the stage where the hormone level in the body of a woman starts to decline.

 

Generally, the perimenopause age of women can range from their late 30s to their late 40s and there could be signs of early menopause indicating that the reproductive capability of the woman is now starting to go down. Symptoms could vary from having perimenopause weight gain to having perimenopause spotting. Fortunately, the symptoms under perimenopause are usually not as bad as with the real symptoms of actual menopause where a woman can experience chronic hot flushes, sweating, irritability, drowsiness, mood swings and even PMS and post-partum depression. However, though perimenopause is just a low level form of menopause, this can last from a year to eight years.

 

What are the high risks that are involved with perimenopause and pregnancy?

Perimenopause and pregnancy do not actually happen every day because once a woman gets past the age of 35, her supply of eggs is already short and her ovulation and menstruation are usually irregular. Especially if the woman reaches her 40s, her menstrual cycle will become more erratic and her fertility is most often compromised. Nevertheless, if ever a woman becomes pregnant during her late 40s, then there could already be a high risk situation in this aspect. Even at the age of 35, doctors say there is already a risk with the pregnancy.

 

According to most doctors, what makes perimenopause and pregnancy to be a bad combination is because of the risk that regards to women’s physical conditions. Women at the age of late 30s to late 40s are the ages where chronic conditions occur like high blood pressure and diabetes. Other than these conditions, the bones structure of a perimenopausal women are not as strong as when they are young. Being overweight is also a problem because most women especially those who have been married for many years have weight problems. And if we listen to the doctor’s judgment, pregnancies that take place at the age of 35 or over can produce babies that have chromosomal problems or saying it simply, giving birth to babies with Down’s syndrome.

 

Is there a connection between perimenopause pregnancy and miscarriage?

Getting pregnant while within the perimenopausal stage does also have the risk of miscarriages and sometimes there is what they call the Placenta Previa which means the placenta develops near the cervix and this can cause internal bleeding. Medically speaking, when a woman reaches the age of 35 to over 40, the best quality ova which young women usually produced during their teens to age 20s are almost out of stock. That is why women who get pregnant at later age usually have miscarriages because the ova are not fully qualified to become developed. Other than that if conception is successful, there is a great risk for the zygote to be affected with chromosomal abnormalities thus bearing babies with defects.

 

The bad news is, if the mother is in her late productive years, we cannot really tell if the baby she will be giving birth would be normal or not as standard test on pregnancies can become risky especially if the woman is more than 35 years old. Test usually involves taking off small tissue from the placenta to test for hormone abnormality. Because the placenta of an aging woman can be sensitive, miscarriage can happen if tissues are taken out of it.

 

How to lessen the risk of bearing babies with defects?

We must face the fact that once the baby is conceived, we don’t have the right to judge if the baby would be born normal or not so we have to devise other ways to come up with solutions to lessen the risk. Doctors usually recommend women undergoing perimenopause and pregnancy to sustain themselves with proper nutrients that are necessary in the development of the brain of the unborn baby. The pregnant woman must also visit her doctor for some series of test if necessary. Proper exercise, enough sleep and positive thinking is also suggested.

 

Pregnant women that are nearing their menopausal stage should not brood and think about complications that may happen, instead, they must see the pregnancy as a normal pregnancy. The risk is there but this does not mean all babies born of perimenopausal mothers would be born not normal. In fact, there are more babies that are borne normal by perimenopaused mothers than those who are not. The point here is, women must still be aware that when it comes to having perimenopause and pregnancy they must adopt more care and cautions especially with the unborn baby.