The Importance of Amniocentesis in Older Pregnant Women | Risks, Techniques, and International Guidelines
Chapter 1: Definition of advanced maternal age – Why 35 years old is set as the cut-off age globally? “When I found out I was 38 years old when I got pregnant, my doctor immediately mentioned the words ‘advanced pregnancy’ and ‘amniocentesis’ as if age had become some sort of label.” Emily Johnson from Los Angeles shares. Internationally, the definition of Advanced Maternal Age (AMA) began in 1958 with FIGO (International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics)-women ≥35 years of age at the time of delivery. This criterion is not arbitrary, but is based on extensive epidemiologic data: Accelerated egg aging: the risk of chromosome nondisjunction of oocytes rises exponentially after the age of 35 years in women, resulting in a steep increase in the probability of embryo abnormalities.Fertility turning point: the probability of a natural pregnancy at age 35 drops by 50% and the miscarriage rate rises to 20-35% (American Society for Reproductive Medicine, 2023).According to Dr. Robert Greene, professor at Harvard Medical School, “Age 35 is an invisible threshold in reproductive biology that directly correlates with the chromosomal health of the fetus.” Chapter 2: The “Risk Curve” of Age and Chromosomal Abnormalities – The Truth Behind the Data “I was very confused when my NIPT results showed low risk, but my doctor still recommended amniocentesis.” Sophie Müller, a 40-year-old Berlin mom, confesses. The harsh reality revealed by risk modeling: Maternal age Risk of Down syndrome 18 Trisomy risk Risk of sex chromosome abnormalities 25岁 1/1200 1/5000 1/1500 35岁 1/350 1/2000 1/900 40岁 1/100 1/500 1/400 45岁 1/50 1/200 1/250 “These numbers are like silent alarms, especially when it comes to microdeletion syndromes,” explains London geneticist Dr. Helen Carter, ”such as the 22q11.2 deletion (DiGeorge Syndrome), where the risk to the fetus is three times higher in pregnant women over…
