Author of the article: The Canadian Press Clara Descurninges A doctor performs an ultrasound on a pregnant woman at a hospital in Chicago, August. 7, 2018. Photo by Teresa Crawford/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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As more Canadians choose to have children later in life, a recent study shows that pregnancies aged 35 and over tend to be stigmatized by medical recommendations and public policies.

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“There is a lot of emphasis on biomedical risks,” explains Francesca Scala, professor of political science at Concordia University and co-author of the study. Some risk factors may increase with age. Public Health Canada lists “preterm labor, low birth weight, miscarriage, placenta previa, gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia, cesarean delivery” as problems that may happen more often. However, while acknowledging that these are “valid concerns” and that mothers-to-be should be well-informed before making decisions, Scala stresses that such an emphasis can portray older mothers as “at risk” or “abnormal” or ” irresponsible reproductive citizens’. For example, PHAC writes in a 2008 paper that the tendency to delay pregnancies until later in life is “a huge clinical and public health problem.”

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In Quebec, as of November 2021, the cost of IVF is covered only for women under 42, due to the lower chance of pregnancy that declines rapidly at this age. And even though different organizations are careful not to impose any moral judgment on the value of a disabled person’s life, there is a lot of emphasis on the possibility that an older mother will give birth to a disabled child, Skala said. “There’s this idea that women are solely responsible for children … that motherhood consumes their entire lives.” Women who are older, who have gray hair are not considered “ideal mothers”. It cites one of the studies cited, regarding IVF recommendations produced by the Canadian Medical Association in 2015. While the text says that preventing women from accessing these services would be unethical, it adds that “older women have higher risk of complications that could jeopardize the safety of the forefather, as well as psychological or social discomfort that the child could experience having a mother old enough to be a grandmother.”

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Scala says she believes age “plays into it.” She notes that “studies show that older women are often better prepared to have children. They have the financial resources to care for their offspring and have a stable relationship. “Recent studies also show that longer motherhood is associated with long-term benefits for children, such as better language skills and better academic performance.” But without bad intentions, personal ambitions and motherhood are often presented as opposition, she said. For example, a guide published by the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada in 2011 explains that because of the mistaken belief that assisted reproduction works all the time, “unfortunately this can give women a false sense of optimism that they can delay their pregnancy. continue their education and career.” The driver has since retired from society. “On the one hand, women are encouraged to have a career, to be self-sufficient and to have a stable relationship, but on the other hand, we warn them that their biological clock is ticking,” says Scala. The study, titled “Conflicting Older Motherhood in Canada: Ageism, Ability and the Risky Mother Issue,” was published in March in the journal Health, Risk & Society. It studies about 20 publications from health associations and governments from 1993 to 2021.

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