With the promulgation of large-scale multi-birth incentive policies in various places, the era of multiple births has arrived, and the elderly mothers in the era of multiple births are a group that cannot be skipped.
For example, the more familiar star elderly mother: Cai Shaofen gave birth to a son at the age of 46; "Goddess" Lin Qingxia gave birth to her second daughter at the age of 41; Jingjingzi, who rode the wind and waves, Yi Nengjing, gave birth to her daughter millet grain at the age of 47.
In fact, not only these stars in their 40s, ordinary people also have natural conceptions in their 50s. We all know that older women are at great risk after conception, but a study published in the journal Menopause found different results!
Do you live longer when you give birth at an advanced age? Telomeres to understand
A study from the journal Menopause is just the answer, as the study of 1232 women found:
Mothers who have children later live longer, especially women in their 30s or, like the stars mentioned above, who give birth to their last child in their 40s live longer than younger women.
However, this correlation in studies was limited to mothers who had given birth to one or two live births, or women who had taken oral contraceptives.
The study showed that a woman's age at the time of her last birth was actually determined by the length of telomeres.
So what are telomeres?
Telomeres contain many G-rich nucleic acid repeats and related proteins, located at the end of chromosomes and wrapped around chromosome heads, protecting DNA and organism genes from being destroyed with age.
At the same time, telomere length determines the lifespan of cells.
A 1992 study found that every passage of somatic cells, telomeres will shorten by 50-200bp, once telomeres are shortened to 2000-4000bp, normal human diploid cells stop dividing, cells begin to age or die, therefore, telomeres are also known as the "biological clock" that determines cell aging.
In addition, adult males of the same age have longer telomere length than females, but the length of telomeres in males decreases faster with age. So this explains the common phenomenon that women tend to live longer than men.
Above we briefly understand telomeres, so the 30s or 40s mentioned in the study, which is the starting age of advanced maternal age?
Maternal age, in medicine, generally refers to a woman whose first pregnancy is over 35 years old or a woman who is over 34 years old at the time of conception. In today's society, more and more women are clinically entering the army of "advanced maternal age".
In fact, with the rapid development of medical technology, more and more medical problems have been solved. The development of fertility medical technology has improved the survival rate of newborns and therefore increased women's confidence in giving birth at an advanced age. In particular, the progress of human assisted reproductive technology has provided technical support for elderly production and ensured the possibility of elderly production.
And with the relaxation of the birth policy in recent years, many couples who have lost their independence also choose to have a new child to seek psychological and physical comfort.
In this way, it seems that the risk of aging production is not great. But doctors knock on the blackboard to warn: the bad risk of giving birth at an advanced age should still be vigilant!
What are the dangers of advanced maternal age? Before pregnancy, these tests must be done!
The best childbearing age for women is actually 25-30 years old, if you choose to have children after the age of 35, it may lead to some adverse risks increase, such as gestational hypertension, the risk of gestational diabetes, the probability of placenta previa, the risk of heavy bleeding in childbirth, etc.
Because with age, women ovulate irregularly, especially after the age of 30, the pregnancy rate has decreased significantly. Moreover, the elasticity of the vagina of elderly women decreases, and the contractility of the uterine muscles is weakened, resulting in an increased risk of miscarriage and dystocia.
In addition, the probability of gestational hypertension and gestational diabetes in elderly women is higher than that of young women, and mild body edema and headache may endanger the life safety of pregnant women and fetuses.
Relevant investigations have also shown that the egg quality of elderly mothers will decline, and chromosomal abnormalities will occur during fertilization, which greatly increases the risk of congenital malformations in the fetus.
Therefore, it is recommended that elderly women must pay attention to the following aspects of examination before preparing for pregnancy.
1. Draw blood before pregnancy to check chromosomes and genes. This is because older maternal oocytes over 35 years old age are older than those in younger women, and there is a risk of distortion in the process of cell fertilization division, so a fetus with Down syndrome may occur. To prevent teratogenesis, chromosomal tests can be used to detect abnormalities. Genetic testing can help analyze hereditary deafness, thalassaemia or other genetic disorders.
2. Since the age of advanced mothers is also a high incidence stage of the reproductive system, therefore, paying attention to the pre-pregnancy ultrasound examination can help elderly women confirm whether there are endometrial cancer, ovarian cancer, cervical cancer and other diseases or find other reproductive system diseases.
3. Infection screening is also one of the key concerns of elderly mothers. Include leucorrhoea and blood tests to rule out viral infections such as HPV (human papillomavirus), trichomoniasis, mycoplasma, fungi, etc., and avoid miscarriage.
4. Elderly pregnant women should also pay attention to routine blood examination. This is because many elderly mothers suffer from anemia and other blood diseases, if not detected in time before pregnancy, it may cause postpartum hemorrhage, puerperal infection and other risks, but also lead to fetal infection, growth and development delay, resistance decline, etc.
Usually, the preconception examination time for elderly women is not special, according to the general prescribed time, that is, 3-6 months before pregnancy. It is recommended to have a preconception check-up 3-7 days after a clean period and be careful to avoid sex for a few days before the test.
While paying attention to preconception examination, the diet of advanced maternal age entering pregnancy is also important.
How should elderly mothers eat during pregnancy?
Elderly mothers entering pregnancy, the baby in the belly will also grow and develop rapidly, so they also need more nutrition, and eating well has become a requirement for pregnant mothers.
To ensure balanced nutrition, eat more vegetables and fruits. The dietary principle of the elderly maternal age during pregnancy should be to increase the intake of protein, carbohydrates, meat and eggs, fish and shrimp and soy products, especially pay attention to eating more fresh vegetables and fruits, ensure the supplement of vitamins and dietary fiber, and because the hormone level of the mother during pregnancy increases, causing a decrease in gastrointestinal motility and weakened stomach peristalsis, constipation, bloating and other situations will occur. Adequate dietary fiber supplementation can help regulate gastrointestinal motility, stimulate the secretion of digestive enzymes, and relieve constipation in pregnant mothers.
Avoid a high-salt diet and drink water in moderation. Older mothers during pregnancy should be careful to avoid eating preserved foods or canned food, as excessive salt intake can lead to edema. But don't worry about edema and don't drink water, you still need to drink water in moderation.
It is recommended to drink at least 1000-1500 ml of water every day, but not all at once, pay attention to reasonable arrangement of time, you can drink 1 cup of warm water after getting up in the morning, 1 cup around 10 a.m., 1 cup after lunch, 1 cup around 4 p.m., 1 cup after dinner, and finally 1 cup before going to bed.
Older mothers should also avoid excessive intake of fat and sugar during pregnancy. It is recommended to eat less foods containing animal fats, such as fatty meat, lard, etc. It is recommended to try to choose less fat such as fish, chicken, etc. Similarly, sugar intake should be controlled, too much sugar intake may lead to obesity in the pregnant mother and fetus. It is recommended to eat less or no sweets such as high-sugar cakes and ice cream.
Many elderly women also experience leg cramps during pregnancy because of reduced blood calcium levels. Therefore, it is recommended that elderly mothers during pregnancy should eat more high-calcium foods and actively supplement calcium. For example, milk, soy products, kelp, seaweed, shrimp skin, etc. can all be selected. In addition, pay attention to more sun exposure during pregnancy to help increase the amount of vitamin D in the body and better promote calcium absorption.
Although nutrition should be supplemented during pregnancy, excessive eating and drinking should be avoided. Many elderly mothers feel that it is difficult to get pregnant, and they are very worried about the baby's nutritional inadequacy, so they blindly eat and drink without moderation, and the result is excessive obesity, and also increase the risk of gestational diabetes, gestational hypertension and other diseases.
While paying attention to the nutrition of the diet during pregnancy, dietary hygiene is also very important. It is recommended that elderly mothers should pay attention to the hygiene of the diet itself and avoid the intake of food additives during pregnancy. Vegetables and fruits must be thoroughly washed before eating, and if necessary, soaked in clean water to remove residual drug residues. Daily pots or tableware at home are best made of iron or stainless steel, avoid tableware of aluminum products or enamel products, prevent aluminum and lead poisoning from causing abnormal nervous system of pregnant mothers, induce dizziness, anemia and other discomfort.
Having said so much about eating a healthy diet, the psychology of elderly mothers must also maintain health in order to ensure the smooth delivery and the health of the baby.
In short, with the progress of society, whether it is a highly educated woman or a strong woman in the workplace, it will not be entangled or even worried about becoming an outlier because of their childbearing age, but will be more rational in planning and choosing. Because they are firm in their hearts, all women have the same reproductive rights and should be respected!
Bibliography:
[1] Latour CD, O'Connell K, Romano ME, Kantor ED, Du M. Maternal age at last birth and leukocyte telomere length in a nationally representative population of perimenopausal and postmenopausal women. Menopause. 2020 Nov;27(11):1242-1250. doi: 10.1097/GME.0000000000001669. PMID: 33110040; PMCID: PMC8448037.
[2] Liu Changqiu, Yin Lin, eds. Comprehensive two-child policy, ethics and law[M]. Wuhan:Huazhong University of Science and Technology Press, 2018.11.
[3] QIU Yuqing. October Encyclopedia of Pregnancy Health[M]. Beijing:Science and Technology Literature Press, 2017.06.
[4] ZHOU Xunhua. Worry-free late pregnancy, guidance for pregnant women of advanced age, and it is not a problem to want to have a smooth pregnancy age[M]. Jinan:Jinan Press, 2017.07.