When is the best time to get pregnant when you are 20, 30 or 40 years old?

Most modern women marry late, and the resulting problem is that the proportion of older mothers is getting higher and higher, but the proportion of people getting married and having children at the age of 20 is still not small. After all, what are the advantages and disadvantages of women getting pregnant at the ages of 20, 30, or 40?

Egg quality declines with age

When a woman is born, there are about one to two million eggs in her ovaries. After entering the reproductive period, that is, after the menstrual cycle begins, each ovulation will reduce the number of eggs in the body. The egg that is released is often the one with the best health after competition, and only then can it be released to accept the task of forming a fertilized embryo. Xu Bozhi, deputy director of the Union Women's Hospital, said that the other eggs will be slowly absorbed by the body until around 50 years old, when the eggs in a woman's body almost disappear after entering menopause. It can be seen that women's eggs will decrease with age. From the principle of probability, the more eggs there are, the more healthy eggs there are; when the number of eggs decreases, there are fewer choices, and the probability of selecting healthy eggs is even lower. This has become the reason why most people worry about the quality of eggs in older mothers.

Dr. Xu Bozhi said that in addition to the changes in the number of eggs, the quality of the eggs in women's bodies will also decline with age and external environmental pollution. External environmental pollution includes radiation and chemical substances in the living environment. The most common is the trace radiation emitted by computers and televisions for a long time. In addition, living and eating habits will also affect physiological conditions, which in turn affects the quality of eggs. Therefore, the older a woman is, the more polluted the eggs in her body are, which increases the probability of mutation.

Eggs are women’s unique friends. Immature eggs exist in the ovaries from birth, and the number of eggs decreases year by year. Generally speaking, fertility is inversely proportional to age. The older the age, the lower the fertility. The key to this is the result of decreased egg and ovarian function.

Pregnancy at 20, 30, and 40 is very different

The quality of female eggs is an important factor in the probability of pregnancy and fetal health. However, in addition to the natural physiological changes of eggs, the younger the body, the healthier the various physiological functions. Dr. Xu Bozhi said that from a physiological point of view, after the menstrual cycle begins, the female body is ready for childbearing. The best childbearing period is between 16 and 20 years old. Female physiology will reach its peak at the age of 20. After the age of 25, various physical conditions will begin to decline. With the increase of age, the risk of pregnancy and childbirth will gradually increase.

Fetal abnormalities are related to egg quality

According to past studies, the rate of pregnancy with Down syndrome under 30 years old is 1/1000, and the rate of pregnancy with Down syndrome in Taiwan is 1/400 for women aged 34 and 1/100 for women aged 40. It is obvious from these data that the probability of pregnancy with Down syndrome at an older age is 10 times that of a younger age. This is the difference in the health of female eggs. When you are older, your eggs are more polluted and the probability of mutation increases. When chromosomes mutate, it is easy to have a child with Down syndrome. Dr. Xu Bozhi said that Down syndrome is the most concerned and most common chromosomal abnormality, but there are many congenital abnormalities of fetuses caused by chromosomal mutations, which are also related to the poor quality of eggs.

I am 20 years old: Physiological peak and easy to have children

When women are 20 years old, they have a large number of healthy eggs, so they don’t have to worry about chromosomal mutations or fetal abnormalities. At this time, their physiological state is at its peak. Various discomforts caused by the fetus during pregnancy, such as back pain and poor physical strength, will be less affected because of their high tolerance and good physical strength. As for the delivery process, Dr. Xu Bozhi said that young pregnant women have good pelvic cavity and bone elasticity, and delivery will be faster. As long as the fetus is not too large, the delivery process can usually proceed smoothly. This is why we often see on TV news that junior and high school students can always give birth in the toilet easily, but this is not a good phenomenon. It is only enough to prove that being young does help pregnancy and childbirth.

In addition, postpartum recovery will also be accelerated due to rapid physiological metabolism. In addition to the above advantages, the biggest advantage of young pregnancy is that you can have more physical strength to take care of the baby. This should be a profound experience for many mothers. At this time, the physiological condition is at its peak. If the baby does not sleep in the middle of the night, it will have a direct impact on the adult. However, the impact on a 20-year-old adult may not be significant. A 30-year-old mother may feel tired the next day!

However, Dr. Xu Bozhi also said that although 20 years old is the best age for pregnancy and childbirth from a physiological point of view, judging from the current social trend, 20-year-olds who are still in college are indeed not the right age for pregnancy and childbirth, and most women are still not mentally prepared to be mothers. If a woman becomes pregnant while she is not ready, the biggest impact should be on the mother's own emotional quality.

I am 30 years old: my physiology is declining and my physical strength is decreasing

It is normal for modern women to get married around the age of 30. Although pregnancy after marriage does not meet the standard of advanced maternal age, the quality of the eggs at this time has been polluted for nearly 10 years compared to when they were 20 years old. The quality has declined a lot, and the number has also decreased a lot, which naturally increases the possibility of egg mutation. In addition, after the age of 25, women's physiological conditions begin to decline. Osteoporosis and calcium loss may occur unconsciously. During pregnancy, calcium is one of the nutrients that need to be supplemented the most. Women in their 30s are more likely to lack calcium than women in their 20s, and may be more prone to cramps. Dr. Xu Bozhi also said that weight loss is popular among Taiwanese women. Many women start to follow a dieting lifestyle after entering puberty to maintain a slim and slender figure. However, such lifestyle and eating habits will also affect the quality of the eggs and the physiological functioning state. After the age of 30, coupled with the burden of the fetus and various life pressures, the pregnancy process will be more difficult than when they were 20 years old, and the postpartum recovery will be significantly slower.

I am 40 years old: Oocyte mutation and worry about the fetus

For women over 40, in addition to the low number of healthy eggs that will reduce the chance of pregnancy, once conception is successful, they still have to worry about whether the eggs are unhealthy eggs that may mutate. At this time, the biggest concern is the health of the fetus. After entering 40, it is considered middle-aged, and physical strength begins to decline significantly. At this time, having a big belly is a big burden for 40-year-old women. As various physiological conditions begin to decline, the risks of various pregnancies are increased. At this time, the elasticity of various muscles also decreases, and the progress of labor may be less smooth. Therefore, this is also one of the reasons why there are more caesarean sections among older women.

Although the earlier you get pregnant the better, plans to get pregnant and have a child may be put on hold due to life planning. With the current trend of having children at an advanced age, the best way to have a healthy pregnancy and childbirth seems to be to exercise more, maintain good living and eating habits, slow down the aging of the body, and keep the physiological functions in a younger state!