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Midlife: Pregnancy Still Happens
Even if you're in your late 30s or mid-40s, even if you're having perimenopausal symptoms such as hot flashes and irregular periods, you can still get pregnant. Although fertility declines with age, up to 80 percent of women between 40 and 43 are still able to conceive. In fact, your fertility doesn't end until you reach menopause—the day you've gone 12 consecutive months without a period.
Many midlife women don't know this. One study found that midlife women who were sexually active but didn't get pregnant falsely assumed they were infertile. Even some doctors apparently give the wrong advice. In focus groups with midlife women conducted by researchers from the University of Oregon and the Oregon Research Institute, several women in their 40s told the researchers that their health care providers said they didn't need contraception because they were perimenopausal. In another study of 55 women with a median age of 72, almost half (45 percent) said their doctors never discussed sex with them once they turned 40.
Such misconceptions are part of the reason for high rates of unintended pregnancy among midlife women. In the United States, for instance, 29 percent of pregnancies in women 35 to 39 are unplanned; for women 40 and older, that figure jumps to 38 percent. Of those unplanned pregnancies, 56 percent end in abortion.
Bottom line: Even if you're finished with childbearing, you and/or your partner should take precautions to prevent pregnancy.
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Reversible, Long-Term or Permanent: Birth Control Options to Fit Your Reproductive Stage
No question, today's woman has an array of contraceptive options. The terms may be confusing, though. "Reversible" contraception (oral contraceptives, patches, barrier contraceptives, fertility awareness method) means that it's easily reversed—and is protective only as long as you take it or use it. "Long-term" contraception (injections, implants, IUDs) refers to contraception that is protective for months or years, as long as the contraceptive device remains in place. "Permanent" contraception (Essure procedure, tubal ligation, vasectomy) is just that: for couples who do not want to have children or have additional children, this form of birth control permanently ends their ability to conceive.
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This content was produced with the support of an educational grant from Conceptus, Inc.
Create Date: 5/7/07
Date Last Updated: 5/7/07
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