postgrad and beyond @ Macquarie

Delaying childbearing – the risks and rewards for older mothers

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (Social Trends 2001), almost one in every four births in 1979 were to women aged 30 years and over. By 1999 this had increased to almost one in every two births.

While there is certainly an increasing trend towards delayed childbearing, we do not know much about the experiences of these older new mums. Macquarie University research aims to change that.

Dr Catherine McMahon from Macquarie University’s Department of Psychology and her colleague, Dr Frances Gibson, from the Institute of Early Childhood at Macquarie, have just completed a pilot project, in partnership with Professor Doug Saunders and IVF Australia, looking at the social and psychological impacts of women delaying childbearing.

McMahon’s preliminary study examined the pregnancy experiences of 50 women in different age groups – one group aged 38 and above, and the other group aged 35 and under. All had conceived using IVF.

“Women in the more mature age group are aware that they are in a high-risk age group for their pregnancy, so they are worried about their baby being okay,” she explains.

Older women are at increased risk of giving birth to a child with a chromosomal disorder and also at increased obstetric risk during pregnancy and childbirth.

Delaying childbearing also increases the likelihood that women aged 35 years and over will need to use Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) as they have a lower overall ability to conceive. ART babies now account for nearly three percent of all babies born in Australia.

Previous research about women conceiving through IVF has shown that irrespective of their age, they are generally more anxious than women who conceive naturally.

McMahon’s study examined the two groups of women in terms of their biological, psychological and social wellbeing.

Biologically, while older women took longer to conceive, there was no evidence they experienced more negative symptoms during their pregnancy, such as morning sickness and tiredness, than their younger peers.

“I was surprised at this result as I did expect some differences in physical wellbeing between the two groups, due to the extra physiological stress of the pregnancy on an older body,” McMahon says. “This was not the case.”

Psychologically, the results showed that despite experiencing specific concerns about their pregnancy outcomes, older women were less anxious overall than their younger counterparts.

“Their maturity may be a protective factor – it may mean they are better able to cope with the transition to motherhood which is a very demanding and stressful job,” she explains.

Socially, in terms of available support networks women in the older age group reported fewer people they could call on to provide practical and emotional support during their pregnancy.

“Older mothers may not be able to call on their own mother for help, they may have moved around during the course of their careers and left close friends and family behind, or they may not have as many peers to turn to – friends in the workplace may have had children earlier and be at different stages of their lives, or they may be childless,” McMahon says.

She plans to follow up the experiences of these same women after the babies are born so she can determine how these factors may develop in the transition to parenthood.

December 2004