Birth Defects in Pregnant Woman over 35

High-Risk Pregnancies
Having a baby is a dream that many families have. Women in particular are associated with the idea and "dream" of having a child but men are pretty excited about it to when it comes, albeit also nervous. However, there is a danger when it comes to waiting too long before starting a family in terms of age. Whether it is career concerns, finding the right, the delaying of the marriage or what have you, there are multiple reasons that are common in today's society whereby women put off having families. An unfortunate byproduct of this pattern is that the risk of birth defects is much higher with children born of women over the age of 35. This report shall explore the precise and specific reasons that these birth defects why it is more common for women beyond the line stated in this proposal. Even with the increasing propensity of women to have women at older and older ages, the problems that arise beyond a certain age for women is without question and it is statistically consistent. While women should absolutely have the freedom to have children if they desire them and have the resources, doing so beyond the age of 35 has risks that are common and inherent and the precise causes and potential results need to be explored. Literature Review
There are so many directions that one could go with the brief literature review that underpins this proposal. However, the author of those proposal will go in directions that are perhaps less traveled and well-known to people that are familiar with this subject. Indeed, one source reveals that evne with the higher propensity of fetuses to end up with birth defects when it comes to women that are older than 35, there are many women in that age group that actively avoid or at least procrastinate when it comes to taking those tests. While some women are averse to abortion as a means to avoid giving birth to a special needs child, it is something that women should choose with informed consent. However, many women avoid or delay this proper due diligence and this is not a new phenomenon. While general risk assessments and non-invasive screening can be useful, there are some other methods that are much more exhaustive and effective (Dunn, 2003).

Another dimension that truly exists but is not commonly looked at is who precisely to target when it comes to the screening for birth defects. Rather than simply cast a wide net and try to get as many people as possible with no specificity other than perhaps age, there are many that say that certain groups and cultures should get more scrutiny than others (Zhu et al., 2016). One last potential cause that can be mentioned has come to the surface when it comes to the recent Zika virus outbreak. Indeed, it has been found that there are extremely high and nasty risks of birth defects when it comes to women of any age that become infected with Zika. Why it is probably unlikely that other and more common viruses like influenza and the common cold are causing these sort of defects, the effects of bacterial and viral infections on women who are pregnant and their fetuses should probably get a higher amount of scruitiny based on what Zika is doing to many fetuses. Methodology
When it comes to the sources used and types of studies that are scholarly in nature, there are three main methods. Those three methods are quantitative, qualitative and a blend of the two. Quantitative studies are those that rely on numbers, statistics and analysis of the same. Qualitative studies are those that rely on more ambiguous and open-ended answers that are definite or constrained in nature. There are upsides and downsides to both sources of data. Numbers themselves do not usually explain the "why" of what is going on but they usually are helpful in determining the "what." As for the "why," that is a huge part of where the qualitative sources. Many studies are only one or the other but there are many others that are a blend of the two. So as to get the clearest and most complete picture of why pregnancies are often more troubled for women over the age of 35, that precise blend of numbers, anecdotes and other studies will all be blended together and analyzed concurrently so as to gain the most complete and exhaustive perspective that is possible. While this may seem like a lot of high-level talk that means nothing, that would be far from the case. While looking at raw data that helps search for common threads in women over 35 that have birth defects, it is entirely possible or even likely that the most pervasive reason (or reasons) for birth defects and how they arise more commonly in women over 35 that have children is not yet known or even fully known. Indeed, it could absolutely be due to purely physical and genetic factors or things like diet or psychological stability could play a role as well. Expected Results
While there is much hand-wringing and fretting about why women have harder and more tumultuous pregnancies beyond the age of 35, the reasons are surely medical in nature. Indeed, the health and plasticity of the body, just to name two things, will tend to be much better the younger a person is. However, to expect such a drop off form the 20's and early 30's to the late 30's and early 40's is perhaps a bit surprising to some. However, the facts are what they are. Beyond that, there are perhaps factors that go beyond the purely physical. Some people speak to things like inherited traits and age progression but other things that could or might have an impact might include psychological health, climate and culture. Regardless, there is surely a correlation, if not a causality, between medical health and status and why women over 35 tend to have a much higher rate of complication when it comes to pregnancy. What is up in the air is what those precise health factors and risks happen to be. Conclusion
The overall result of this research study will probably be right in line with the general parameters given a bit earlier in this report. However, the minutia and specifics of those answers may indeed reveal surprises. While the overall risk of birth defects may not be sufficient to deter some women who really wish to have children despite their 35+ age status, those same women could and should know the precise risks and birth defects that can arise, how to best avoid them, how to screen for them (and when to do so) and so forth so as to have the highest amount of preparation and informed consent possible before getting too far into the process and having any sort of regret or second thoughts along the way. References
Dunn, A. (2003, March 13). Older women avoid birth defect tests. Age, The (Melbourne). p. 6.

Rasmussen, S. A., Jamieson, D. J., Honein, M. A., & Petersen, L. R. (2016). Zika Virus and Birth Defects -- Reviewing the Evidence for Causality. The New England Journal Of

Medicine, 374(20), 1981-1987. doi:10.1056/NEJMsr1604338

Zhu, Z., Cheng, Y., Yang, W., Li, D., Yang, X., Liu, D., &... Zeng, L. (2016). Who Should Be

Targeted for the Prevention of Birth Defects? A Latent Class Analysis Based on a Large,

Population-Based, Cross-Sectional Study in Shaanxi Province, Western China. Plos

ONE, 11(5), 1-16. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0155587