What are the risks of pregnancy at 40 years of age?

Question

Hello doctor,

I am a 40 year old female. I did nuchal translucency (NT) scan at 12 weeks and 1 day. The result reads NT 1.1 mm. Free beta hCG 25.9 ng/ml. PAPP-A 0.53. My sugar levels and BP are normal. I am taking Aspirin and Enoxaparin every day. Kindly tell me about my risks.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I see nothing for you to worry about. Let me explain.

Here age is the only factor, but this is only a relative term. In the general population, the risk of genetic problems is high after 40 years, and we tend to screen all the pregnant ladies around this age group. Nuchal Translucency of up to 2.5 mm can be normal. You are very safe. This is the thickness of the skin fold behind the baby's neck. Both beta hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) and PAPP-A (pregnancy-associated plasma protein A) are within normal limit. It is usually expressed in MoM or Multiples of Median. Levels below 1.1 MoM is normal. The values are definitely within this. So net result is that there is no risk for any genetic abnormality, especially trisomy 21. Aspirin and Enoxaparin are given to prevent an undiagnosed blood flow abnormality to the baby. The remaining blood results are normal, you said. So overall you and your baby are fine. You do not need any further interventions or evaluations.

Hope I have clarified your query. Do write back if any more queries. All the best.