Things to note for older mothers preparing for a second pregnancy: Be sure to do a pre-pregnancy check

As women age, their fertility declines significantly, the chance of conception also decreases, and miscarriage may occur, especially for older mothers. So what are the must-do pre-pregnancy checkups for older mothers? What precautions should older mothers take when preparing for a second child? What potential risks will older mothers face when preparing for a second child?

Older pregnant women must do pre-pregnancy check-up when preparing for a second child

Common factors that cause miscarriage include environmental factors, genetic factors, reproductive organ malformation or disease, infection, endocrine factors, immune factors, etc. Experts recommend that women who are preparing to become mothers after the age of 30 should do the following examinations:

Endocrine examination: blood can be drawn to check thyroid function, blood sugar, and sex hormones;

Immune examination: blood can be drawn to check for anti-sperm antibodies, anti-lecithin antibodies, anti-endometrial antibodies, lupus factor, etc.

Genetic examination: blood can be drawn to check chromosomes, blood type, and gene analysis;

Genital examination: B-ultrasound can be done to understand the condition of the uterus, cervix, ovaries, and fallopian tubes;

Infection examination: Leucorrhea and blood tests are required to exclude Trichomonas, fungus, HPV: Mycoplasma, Rubella virus, and Cytomegalovirus infection;

Environmental inspection: It can be used to detect trace elements or environments with odors.

What other tests are there for older mothers preparing for a second child?

1. Ultrasound prenatal diagnosis

The most commonly used prenatal diagnostic method, especially the use of advanced B-type ultrasound scanners in recent years, has greatly improved the diagnostic level.

Advantages: painless, fast, can be checked repeatedly, etc. It has high diagnostic value for obvious limb deformities, anencephaly, fetal visceral deformities, embryonic developmental abnormalities, microcephaly, multiple pregnancy, and amniocentesis positioning.

2. Amniocentesis

The best time for amniocentesis is the 16th to 20th week of pregnancy. This is a very mature and safe prenatal diagnosis technology, which is used to confirm whether the fetus has chromosomal abnormalities, neural tube defects, and certain inherited metabolic diseases that can be reflected in the amniotic fluid. During the puncture, a puncture needle is used to penetrate the pregnant woman's abdominal wall into the uterine cavity to suck out a small amount of amniotic fluid, and then the amniotic fluid cells and biochemistry are examined. Many pregnant women are afraid of doing this examination, but doctors recommend amniocentesis because they suspect that the fetus is normal. If you compare the risk of giving birth to an abnormal child with the risk that the puncture may cause, and weigh the pros and cons, then you will rationally accept the doctor's advice.

3. Chorionic villus cell examination

This is a new prenatal diagnosis technology developed in recent years, and it is also a relatively safe and extremely promising prenatal diagnosis technology. When the blastocyst is surrounded by villi at 40-70 days of pregnancy, it is the best time to conduct the examination.

It is mainly used to understand the gender of the fetus and whether there are any chromosomal abnormalities, and its accuracy is very high.

4. Fetoscopy

This is a highly technical prenatal diagnosis project. It is usually performed during the 15th to 20th week of pregnancy. This test can be used to diagnose and treat certain inherited metabolic diseases and blood diseases of the fetus. Some foreign research institutions also use it to inject drugs into the fetus, and even perform surgical operations on fetal hydrocephalus and urinary tract obstruction, but it is not widely used at present.

Things to note when preparing for a second child for older mothers

1. Older pregnant women must undergo prenatal diagnosis

Women around 35 years old are considered to be older mothers. If you are worried that the baby may have developmental abnormalities, you may need to do a prenatal diagnosis. Generally, we recommend prenatal diagnosis for women over 35 years old, because the chances of fetal developmental abnormalities will increase over 35 years old.

2. Actively supplement folic acid

Starting from 3 months before pregnancy to 3 months of pregnancy, every woman should take a small dose of folic acid to prevent fetal neural tube defects. This is especially true for "older mothers" because their children are more likely to have neural tube defects.

3. No makeup or nail polish

In the pre-pregnancy preparation stage and until the breastfeeding period, try to reduce makeup, avoid dyeing your hair, and don't apply nail polish. Because the lead in cosmetics can be absorbed through the skin and mucous membranes, excessive exposure to lead before birth can damage the fetal brain tissue, thus affecting the physical and intellectual development of children.

4. Keep away from small pets

Families with pets should place their pets in someone else's home for a period of time, because cats, dogs, poultry and other animals may be host to Toxoplasma gondii, which can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, fetal hydrocephalus, decreased vision and other deformities, neonatal pneumonia, hepatosplenomegaly, jaundice and impaired consciousness.

5. Stay away from secondhand smoke

The harmful substances in cigarettes can cause congenital malformations and intrauterine growth retardation in the fetus, and the risk of miscarriage and premature birth is 2 to 3 times greater than that of other fetuses. The physical and intellectual development of their babies after birth will also be affected. Therefore, you should try to stay away from cigarettes before pregnancy and reduce passive smoking.

6. Reduce the time you spend on the computer

You should try to reduce work in front of the computer. Even if you cannot completely leave the computer, you should try to avoid the side and back of the computer facing you, because the back of the computer has the strongest radiation. You should try to turn off the computer when it is not needed, or go outdoors for a while every hour or so to reduce the harm of the computer.

Risks that older mothers must face

1. The fertility of older women decreases, and they may not ovulate or have irregular ovulation cycles, which reduces their ability to conceive and reduces the chance of pregnancy.

2. The chance of spontaneous abortion in older pregnant women will increase;

3. The probability of fetal development abnormalities in older pregnant women will also increase, and the probability of various fetal congenital malformations will be much higher than that of women under 35 years old;

4. The chance of premature birth will increase. Before planning to have a second child, you should consider the potential risks brought by age factors.