Women in the age group of 40s and 50s are more prone to the risk of multiple pregnancies. The age-group is also known to do better in terms of gestational period and even their babies showed increase in birth weight compared to the mothers of 25-29 years.

In a presentation tilted 'Is the women over 40 a new obstetric entity' at the 46th All India Congress of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Dr. Louis Keith, professor of obstetrics and gynaecology, Northwestern University, Chicago, USA, highlighted that women in the age group of 40 were more efficient during labour as unlike the ovary, the uterus did not loose its ability to function with age.

The main reasons for delay of pregnancy was late marriage due to career reasons and the fertility treatment led to the development of triplets more often. The medical treatment adopted for this age group was IUI (Intra Uterine Insemination), IVF (in-vitro fertilisation) and ICSI (Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection) ovulation induced drugs and due of donated eggs, he said.

The risk of this age-group was mainly multiple pregnancies and not getting pregnant. If the women are known to have medical conditions like diabetes, blood pressure and cardiovascular problem, then the treatment needs to be given with caution he noted. Another problem for some mothers of this age-group was the risk of having babies with congenital abnormalities and Down Syndrome, but by and large babies were normal.

The success rate of the age-group getting pregnant depended on the skills of the doctors and the chances of pregnancy are as high as 40-50 per cent, noted Dr. Keith.