Katrina's pregnancy sparks debate on right age to conceive. Here's what experts say

India Today

Four years after their wedding, Katrina Kaif and Vicky Kaushal announced they are expecting their first child, with the 42-year-old actor's news sparking a social media discussion on the appropriate age for pregnancy.

Transcript

00:00on that important topic, on that important issue of mental health and the crisis that

00:05young people really are dealing with, the problems that these young people are dealing

00:11with, particularly many students.

00:13Moving on, four years after their wedding, Katrina Kaep and Vicky Korshal have shared

00:18the news that they're expecting their first child.

00:21The 42-year-old actor flaunted a baby bump in the announcement post.

00:24Since then, social media has been flooded with discussions on the right age of pregnancy.

00:31Social media users have pointed out that while celebrities make it look easier, fertility

00:36starts declining after 30 and the risk of complications are higher.

00:40Gynecologists, doctors talk about the fact that the best age for the first pregnancy is

00:46before 30.

00:47After 30, the quality of a woman's eggs start to decline that can make it harder to conceive,

00:52may increase chances of complications as well.

00:56As we're listing out for our viewers, one condition that is expected very often and this is something

01:02that doctors actually rule out during the pregnancy itself is Down syndrome.

01:08But the big question is that Katrina is not alone.

01:12Age, maybe, is just a number for celebrities.

01:16Kareena Kapoor's first child, Taimur Ali Khan, was born when she was 35.

01:20Second, when she was 40.

01:23Gauri Khan's third child, was born through IVF, surrogacy at 43.

01:28Neha Dupia's first child, was born at 37.

01:31Second, when she was 41.

01:33Diyamirza delivered her son at the age of 39.

01:37Chilpa Shetty, had a first child at 37.

01:40Second, via surrogacy at 41.

01:42Dr. Rahul Manchenda, senior consultant at Delhi's PSRI Hospital, is now joining us.

01:51Thank you so much for your time, doctor.

01:52I want to ask you, a lot of chatter online on why this is problematic.

01:57You know, sending out a message through celebrities that this is normal.

02:02It's okay to try and have children after the age of 40.

02:05Not really talking much about the problem.

02:08Are celebrities, in a way, doctor, in your opinion, also in a way, sending out a message

02:12that do what you wish to.

02:14Late pregnancies are also okay and perhaps risk-free.

02:19Well, good evening, Sneha.

02:21And thank you for having me here.

02:23I think, I don't think they're sending out a message.

02:26But what you mentioned in the preamble to what you're discussing is very correct.

02:34With age, the chances of having a pregnancy decrease.

02:38And if you do get pregnant, then the chances of having a miscarriage and having complications

02:44or problems during pregnancy do increase.

02:47So the correct age, or rather, I wouldn't say correct age,

02:50but probably the preferable age to get pregnant for a lady, or should I say a couple, is between 20 and 30.

03:00Having said that, as you know, nowadays, we have careers to follow.

03:06And whether we like it or not, the lady does have a biological clock that is ticking.

03:12So some of them, we now have methods by which you can sort of plan your pregnancy

03:21and have a baby later, once you've sort of taken up your goals for your career.

03:29But they do come with, these pregnancies do come with complications, with problems.

03:34They need to be monitored more closely.

03:38And the problems need to be taken care of by a specialist.

03:45You know, doctor, I also want to ask you that it's not just about, you know, conceiving

03:49and then having the risk of, say, chromosomal conditions that become higher.

03:54The risk of it becomes higher.

03:55You know, babies obviously born to older mothers have a risk of other problems,

03:59such as Down syndrome that we are talking about.

04:01But also this entire thing about, you know, freezing your eggs and planning for a pregnancy,

04:07you know, a decade later, IVF that I know of 25-year-olds who are turning to today, you know.

04:13These aren't without risks, isn't it?

04:16Yes, yes, you're right.

04:18But they do offer us an option now with these techniques available.

04:23And it's something that we can offer to people who wish to delay pregnancies,

04:30not the most ideal situation.

04:33Like I said, they need to be monitored.

04:35The risks need to be explained properly to the ladies.

04:40And only when those are understood, and like I said, pregnancies need to be monitored,

04:46then only should one go ahead with this.

04:48Because like you said correctly, the risk of Down syndrome,

04:51even the risk of having complications during pregnancy, whether it's high blood pressure,

04:57diabetes, you know, having deliveries that you can have bleeding before you deliver,

05:03you can have what we call intrauterine growth retardations, low for birth babies.

05:08These are problems that you can have with advancing age pregnancies,

05:13and hence need to be monitored carefully by a gynecologist who is qualified and then taken care of.

05:21That's right.

05:22In a lot of chatter online on whether this is normalizing late pregnancies,

05:26some people have opined on the same, but we don't want to.

05:29We just want to put the focus and the spotlight on the dangers of late pregnancies.

05:34Certainly, we wish Katrina Kaiv and Vicky Kaushal all the best for their new bundle of joy,

05:42who is really on his or her way.

05:45We don't know just yet.

05:46Many congratulations to them.

05:48Absolutely.

05:49Absolutely, doctor.

05:50Our wishes are with them.

05:52I'm going to thank you for joining in.

05:53Dr. Manchanda, they're connecting with us on that story.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended