What tests do older pregnant women need to do?

With the increasing pressure of work and economy, more and more women choose to marry late and have children late, and with the liberalization of the second child policy, many elderly women over 35 have joined the ranks of pregnancy preparation. However, unlike young women, older women may face many obstacles in the process of pregnancy preparation and pregnancy. Older women with pregnancy plans should be psychologically prepared in advance.

Potential risks of pregnancy in elderly women

Infertility rate increases: With the increase of women's age, ovarian function will gradually decline, and fertility will also decline. It has been reported that the incidence of infertility among women aged 20-24 is 6%, that among women aged 34-39 is 30%, and that among women aged 39-44 is 64%. In addition to insufficient ovarian reserve function, there are also some gynecological diseases, such as pelvic inflammatory disease, adnexitis, hysteromyoma, endometrial polyps and so on.

Increased incidence of adverse pregnancy: Due to the quality of embryos, elderly women who have passed the pregnancy preparation barrier may also increase the probability of fetal malformation, miscarriage or premature delivery during pregnancy. According to statistics, the incidence of adverse pregnancy history among women around 30 years old is about 15%, and it rises to 28%~30% after 40 years old. The rate of fetal malformation will also increase from 2%~4% to 8%~ 15%.

Increased complications during pregnancy: In addition to being harmful to the fetus, pregnant mothers themselves will also have a variety of pregnancy complications during pregnancy due to age problems, such as pregnancy-induced hypertension, diabetes and other diseases, which will adversely affect the pregnancy outcome.

Older women have many pregnancy risks, so they should actively do a good job of pre-pregnancy examination when preparing for pregnancy.

Pregnancy check-up program for elderly women

1. Routine physical examination: The main purpose is to check whether there are various internal diseases, such as hypertension, diabetes, thyroid dysfunction, heart disease, etc. Because with the increase of age, the function of various organs of elderly women declines, and the probability of various internal diseases increases. If these internal diseases are not well controlled before pregnancy, once pregnant, it will bring great risks to pregnant mothers and fetuses.

2. Specialist examination: pelvic tumors and related medical history, such as abortion and endometriosis, are mainly examined by ultrasound to reduce the occurrence of diseases such as ectopic pregnancy, placenta previa and placenta implantation.

3. Imaging examination of reproductive system: it is mainly to know the state of female uterus and bilateral appendages, such as endometrial thickness, whether there are diseases such as hysteromyoma, hydrosalpinx, ovarian cyst, endometrial polyp, etc., and also to check the ovarian size and follicular base to predict ovarian reserve function.

4. Determination of basic hormones: Sex hormones are a barometer of female endocrine status, and their changes suggest the healthy level of female endocrine. The determination of basic hormones includes follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), estradiol (E2), luteinizing hormone (LH), prolactin (PRL), testosterone (T) and progesterone (P), and their values vary greatly at different ages of women. Through the results of measurement, we can know the ovarian function and corpus luteum function of women.

Because many early abortions are related to sperm abnormalities, in addition to women, husbands also need to go to the hospital for routine semen tests, such as sperm concentration, vitality, deformity rate and so on.

The older a couple is, the more difficult it is to conceive. In order to make the baby more smooth, it is best for elderly women to go to the hospital for a comprehensive and systematic pre-pregnancy examination and fertility assessment before pregnancy.