Pregnancy During Menopause: Get All Essential Facts

The words pregnancy and menopause, in most women’s minds is kind of like oil and water: they just don’t mix. Pregnancy occurs at a time when you are fertile while menopause is when you become infertile, so there would appear to be no connection between the two, but there actually is. Pregnancy and menopause can overlap or you can think your menopausal when in fact your experiencing a late-in-life pregnancy. Pregnancy during those years can be risky, so when it comes to pregnancy during menopause you need to get all the essential facts. We will explain how and why it happens, what the risks are and what you can do to keep yourself safe and healthy. 
 
When Menopause isn’t Menopause  
When a woman enters her menopausal years, particularly during the first few months (perimenopause), she usually still has her period, albeit a spotty one. Menopausal women also experience many of the same symptoms as pregnant women, including:

• Bloating 
• Nausea 
• Spotting 
• Mood swings 
• Fatigue 

With all of these similar symptoms occurring it is easy for a woman to mistake being pregnant with being in menopause. Many women think they are going through the “change”, as menopause is often referred to, when in reality the opposite is happening and they are pregnant. On average most women do not start experiencing menopause until age 47, so women should not automatically assume a spotty period is menopause, especially if she is under age 45. Women need to understand that contrary to popular belief you can get pregnant after 40- it may be a little harder, but it is still possible. 
 
Pregnancy During Menopause 
Mistakenly believing your menopausal when your pregnant makes a lot of sense, but women should also be aware that you can actually be menopausal and pregnant at the same time. It may sound odd but it actually makes sense once you understand how it happens and when. At the onset of menopause your period should stop, but just because it does doesn’t mean your hormonal activity within your ovaries automatically stops too. Clinical studies have shown that some women have the same hormonal levels 6 months into menopause that they had before menopause started. This means your ovaries still have the potential to release an egg and you could become pregnant.

In addition to still being somewhat fertile, the fact that your period is spotty can make it hard to know when and if an egg is being rel;eased, making your chances for getting pregnant somewhat higher during preimenopause, especially if your not on birth control. It takes 12 full months without a period for you to be in menopause, which means it’s a gradual process and as long as you are spotting you are at risk. That is why many physicians will prescribe birth control for women in the first year of menopause. 
 
The Risks of Pregnancy During Your Later Years 
Whether you become pregnant during the early stages of menopause or what you think is the early stages, the fact is either way the pregnancy is occurring later in life, which is far from ideal. After the age of 40 conception and pregnancy can be dangerous for mother and child. Pregnancy after 40 is risky because: 

• Women have one set of eggs, that they shed throughout the decades: by age 40 the eggs that are left have aged, making them susceptible to chromosonal abnormalities. 
• Women who become pregnant over 40 have a higher chance of suffering from more serious medical complications, like gestational diabetes, placenta previs (the cervix becoming covered by the placenta, ectopic pregnancy and high blood pressure.
• Women over 40 have a 50% chance of needing a Cesarean section 
• Women between the ages of 40-44 have a 1 in 3 chance of having a miscarriage and at 45 the odds jump to a 50 % chance. 

Pregnancy over the age of 40 also harms the baby: it increases their overall chances of being born with some form of birth defects and increases their risk of Down Syndrome to 1 in 100, which is 10 times higher than for a 25 year old (1 in 1250). 
 
Pregnancy and menopause are two sides of the same coin: in some instances things get flipped around and you end up pregnant when you think your in menopause. When you see the first signs of what you believe to be menopause see your physician so they can examine you and make sure that is what is happening. Until you are period-free for a year you should also see about being placed on birth control as a precaution. Your physician can sit down and explain everything to you so you make sure to keep yourself healthy as your body readies itself for this life-change. With the right knowledge and your physicians vigilance you can go through this transitional time safely and worry-free.