The announcement of a 63-year-old woman's pregnancy in England has
triggered an avalanche of criticism and questions. When is a woman too
old to have a baby? When is the risk too high for the woman's health?
When is the risk too high for the baby's health? How will it affect the
child mentally? Will the child be teased at school?
As far as the baby's mental well-being is concerned, there are many factors to take into account - the age of the parents is just one of them. There are millions of babies throughout history who have been brought up by their grandparents because the parents were not there, either due to death, imprisonment, emigration, illness or abandonment. Having an older guardian is not a new phenomenon.
Perhaps one could say that if you wait till you are over 60 to have a baby, that contingency is no longer there. The contingency of having your parents, or in-laws, step in if you are unable to be there for the child. A 63-73 year old mother is unlikely to have a mother who is able to help out or take over. One could also say that having grandparents bring someone up is rarely a first choice, it is usually something that has to be done because something unpleasant happened to the parents. Becoming pregnant at 63 is a deliberate move, not an accidental one.
Some wonder whether the child will feel different when he/she goes to school. What are the chances of being teased - are they higher because the mother is so old? The child may feel embarrassment and resentful. According to reports from children whose grandparents brought them up, the evidence for this is not there.
What about the health aspect? The older a pregnant mother is, the higher are her risks of developing hypertension, diabetes and some other illnesses during gestation. Some illnesses, acquired by the older mother during pregnancy, could undermine the health of her child. Therefore, it would be fair to say that the chances of the baby having a health problem are greater.
Would a 63-year-old woman, two years from the age of retirement, and her elderly husband, have the vigour to care for a demanding baby - one that spends half the night awake. What if the baby has a disability and requires round-the-clock attention? Could an elderly person cope? In the case of this English woman who is pregnant, Dr. Rashbrook, she can afford to have live-in help. She lives, with her husband, in a �600,000 ($1 million) house, they both earn good money.
People in their sixties are generally financially better off than younger people. Older people tend to have more patience and wisdom. 73-year-old parents will not be able to play sports with their ten-year-old children. The chances of one, or both parents dying or becoming seriously ill during the first fifteen years of the child's life are infinitely greater if the parents are aged 63-78 during those 15 years, than for parents aged 26-41.
Some argue that a child is not a commodity. It is not the same as acquiring a car or a new house. A woman in her sixties is seen as selfish to want to have a baby, because the baby will be the one to suffer. What about drug addicts, child beaters and sex-abusers who have children? If we go down the road of morals, it would not be long before a large portion of the population would be barred from having children - some people would want to include income, arguing that a child has the right to a comfortable bedroom, good nutrition, health care and education. Others would want to include IQ, general health, gene type and mental health.
Personally, I would say the greatest problem is a medical one. The likelihood of complications during the pregnancy, illnesses appearing directly as a result of a pregnancy when a woman is in her sixties, is too high. I wonder what percentage of pregnancies would go wrong if each year one million women, aged 63, had a baby. Of those one million women, how many would die or become ill during pregnancy or not long after giving birth? How many of those one million babies would have a health problem directly as a result of having a very old pregnant mother.
If it is shown that getting pregnant over 60 seriously raises the health risks for both mother and child, then we should seriously look at legislation that places an age limit on IVF. In order to prove it is more dangerous, studies will need to be carried out. To have good studies, you need a good number of elderly pregnant women you can monitor. For the moment, we just don't have the numbers to do that - there are not that many pregnant women over 60.
As far as the baby's mental well-being is concerned, there are many factors to take into account - the age of the parents is just one of them. There are millions of babies throughout history who have been brought up by their grandparents because the parents were not there, either due to death, imprisonment, emigration, illness or abandonment. Having an older guardian is not a new phenomenon.
Perhaps one could say that if you wait till you are over 60 to have a baby, that contingency is no longer there. The contingency of having your parents, or in-laws, step in if you are unable to be there for the child. A 63-73 year old mother is unlikely to have a mother who is able to help out or take over. One could also say that having grandparents bring someone up is rarely a first choice, it is usually something that has to be done because something unpleasant happened to the parents. Becoming pregnant at 63 is a deliberate move, not an accidental one.
Some wonder whether the child will feel different when he/she goes to school. What are the chances of being teased - are they higher because the mother is so old? The child may feel embarrassment and resentful. According to reports from children whose grandparents brought them up, the evidence for this is not there.
What about the health aspect? The older a pregnant mother is, the higher are her risks of developing hypertension, diabetes and some other illnesses during gestation. Some illnesses, acquired by the older mother during pregnancy, could undermine the health of her child. Therefore, it would be fair to say that the chances of the baby having a health problem are greater.
Would a 63-year-old woman, two years from the age of retirement, and her elderly husband, have the vigour to care for a demanding baby - one that spends half the night awake. What if the baby has a disability and requires round-the-clock attention? Could an elderly person cope? In the case of this English woman who is pregnant, Dr. Rashbrook, she can afford to have live-in help. She lives, with her husband, in a �600,000 ($1 million) house, they both earn good money.
People in their sixties are generally financially better off than younger people. Older people tend to have more patience and wisdom. 73-year-old parents will not be able to play sports with their ten-year-old children. The chances of one, or both parents dying or becoming seriously ill during the first fifteen years of the child's life are infinitely greater if the parents are aged 63-78 during those 15 years, than for parents aged 26-41.
Some argue that a child is not a commodity. It is not the same as acquiring a car or a new house. A woman in her sixties is seen as selfish to want to have a baby, because the baby will be the one to suffer. What about drug addicts, child beaters and sex-abusers who have children? If we go down the road of morals, it would not be long before a large portion of the population would be barred from having children - some people would want to include income, arguing that a child has the right to a comfortable bedroom, good nutrition, health care and education. Others would want to include IQ, general health, gene type and mental health.
Personally, I would say the greatest problem is a medical one. The likelihood of complications during the pregnancy, illnesses appearing directly as a result of a pregnancy when a woman is in her sixties, is too high. I wonder what percentage of pregnancies would go wrong if each year one million women, aged 63, had a baby. Of those one million women, how many would die or become ill during pregnancy or not long after giving birth? How many of those one million babies would have a health problem directly as a result of having a very old pregnant mother.
If it is shown that getting pregnant over 60 seriously raises the health risks for both mother and child, then we should seriously look at legislation that places an age limit on IVF. In order to prove it is more dangerous, studies will need to be carried out. To have good studies, you need a good number of elderly pregnant women you can monitor. For the moment, we just don't have the numbers to do that - there are not that many pregnant women over 60.
No comments:
Post a Comment