advanced maternal age

Examples of advanced maternal age in the following topics:

• The Middle Years

  • Middle age is the period of age beyond young adulthood but before the onset of old age.
  • Census lists middle age as including people aged from 35 to 54, while developmental psychologist Erik Erikson argues that middle adulthood occurs from the age of 40 until 65.
  • Both male and female fertility declines with advancing age.
  • Advanced maternal age increases the risk of a child being born with some disorders, such as Down syndrome.
  • Advanced paternal age sharply increases the risk of miscarriage, as well as Down syndrome, schizophrenia, autism, and bipolar disorder.

• Infertility

  • Definitions of infertility differ, with demographers tending to define infertility as childlessness in a population of women of reproductive age, while the epidemiological definition is based on "trying for" or "time to" a pregnancy, generally in a population of women exposed to a probability of conception.
  • Other factors that can affect a woman's chances of conceiving include being over- or underweight, or her age as female fertility declines sharply after the age of 35.
  • It is increasingly recognized that egg quality is of critical importance and women of advanced maternal age have eggs of reduced capacity for normal and successful fertilization.

• Raising the Stakes of Your Argument

  • Potential Answers: 1) Maternity leave affects both personal and professional fulfillment. 2) Maternity leave is a contested issue in the U.S. 3)The controversy surrounding maternity leave reveals conflicting values regarding work and family. 4) The question of paid maternity leave points to a larger question about the extent of women's rights.
  • Costs of paid maternity may include: 1) Companies pay an employee who is not currently working. 2) Companies reassign responsibilities on a temporary basis. 3) Co-workers shoulder extra responsibilities. 4) New hires may be less secure in their jobs if former workers are returning after a leave. 5) Mothers may miss opportunities for professional advancement if they take time away from work.
  • The U.S. is the only high-income country in the world without a legal mandate that workplaces offer paid maternity leave.
  • An appropriate response might be: The larger question of women's rights relates to my research about the laws governing maternity leave, and the corresponding statistics relating to working mothers' professional outcomes.
  • You can't answer age-old philosophical or ethical questions in a ten-page paper, nor should you try to do so.

• Prenatal Diagnostic Tests

  • Having this information in advance of the birth means that healthcare staff, as well as parents, can better prepare themselves for the delivery of a child with a health problem.
  • Cell-free fetal DNA testing is also possible, wherein the maternal blood is analyzed to detect the small amount of free circulating fetal DNA.
  • Non-invasive techniques include examinations of the woman's womb through ultrasonography and maternal serum screens.
  • Blood tests for select trisomies based on detecting fetal DNA present in maternal blood are available.
  • The results of the blood tests are then combined with the NT ultrasound measurements, maternal age, and gestational age of the fetus to yield a risk score for Down syndrome, trisomy 18, and trisomy 13.

• The Health of Infants and Children

  • In the 1980's, the United States increased funding for maternal and childhood health programs.
  • At that time, it was estimated that 17 million children under the age of 5 died every year.
  • Even with the great advances in childhood health that have occurred in recent decades, many health problems still afflict infant and child populations.
  • Without antiretroviral drugs, half of these children die by age 2.
  • Other immunizations that can improve maternal and child health are tetanus immunization of pregnant women and polio immunization.

• Metabolic Changes

  • Protein and carbohydrate metabolism are affected during pregnancy and maternal insulin resistance can lead to gestational diabetes.
  • Increased liver metabolism is also seen, with increased gluconeogenesis leading to increased maternal glucose levels.
  • Maternal insulin resistance can lead to gestational diabetes.
  • Babies born to mothers with untreated gestational diabetes are typically at increased risk of problems such as being large for gestational age (which may lead to delivery complications), low blood sugar, and jaundice.

• World Health Trends

  • Among children under the age of 5 in the developing world, malnutrition, which results from either a lack of food or an inadequately diversified diet, contributes to 53% of deaths associated with infectious diseases.
  • Finally, health interventions could advance by considering the relationship of national and international politics to the establishment of adequate education and healthcare systems.
  • Maternal health is one of the priorities of global health organizations, such as the World Health Organization.

• Maternalist Reform

  • The idea of a maternal public policy emerged in the United States following the landmark decision made by the Supreme Court of the United States in Muller v.
  • In 1921 the Sheppard-Towner Maternity and Infancy Act became the first federally funded social welfare measure in the United States.
  • Prior to the reform era, children over the age of seven were imprisoned with adults.
  • The Sheppard–Towner Act led to the creation of 3,000 child and maternal health care centers, many of these in rural areas, during the eight years it was in effect.
  • Jane Addams would begin the maternalism movement in order to improve the health, education, and welfare of American children.

• Natural Passive Immunity

  • Naturally acquired passive immunity occurs during pregnancy, when antibodies are passed from the maternal blood into the fetal bloodstream.
  • Naturally acquired passive immunity occurs during pregnancy, in which certain antibodies are passed from the maternal blood into the fetal bloodstream in the form of IgG.
  • The immune responses reach full strength at about age 5.

• Development of the Immune System

  • The body's capability to react to antigens depends on a person's age, type of antigen, maternal factors, and the area of the body affected.
  • Maternal factors also play a role in the body's immune response.
  • At birth, most of the immunoglobulin is present is maternal IgG.
  • Passively acquired maternal antibodies can suppress the antibody response to active immunization.
  • Not until 12 to 24 months of age is there a marked improvement in the body's response to polysaccharides.