Pregnant Women Whose Age is Over Forty - Assignment Example

Pregnant Women Whose Age is Over Forty Few women postpone their pregnancy for several reasons -- examples are career priority and satisfaction in their current situation (Abma & Martinez, 2006). Of the women who finally decide to commit themselves to childbearing, there are problems or risks that are unavoidably faced. Women who are over 40 years of age, in particular, are at grave risk when they get pregnant for the first time; the reason is generally physiological in nature. For one thing, the fertility of the women declines as they get older. In fact, the function of their reproductive system differs widely when they were in their teens or even at their 30s. In general, this group of women is in the most difficult phase in its womanhood: menopause period. There are several changes that occur in their bodies that are mainly biological; undoubtedly, physiological modification has direct and visible effect to the psychological aspect of the person undergoing such body changes. Pregnancy in this particular period is very dangerous for women who undergo such childbearing. Based from certain statistics, women of such age bracket are twice more at risk of having a fetal demise in contrast to the younger women (Klossner, 2006). This implies that in giving birth to a newborn baby, the lives of the women whose age is over 40 are in greater danger than those of the women below such age bracket. This sort of tragedy (i.e., death) from childbearing is largely attributed to the physiological characteristic characterized in the at-risk group of women. Due to dramatic changes in their bodies (e.g., ovaries), pregnancy for this group of women is complicated, which leads, at certain times, to their ultimate demise. Moreover, women who are pregnant in their 40s and above are more likely to have a type of cesarean delivery (Klossner, 2006). In contrast to young women, women of considerable age are prone to cesarean operation probably due to the biological complexity inherent in menopausal stage. It is noteworthy that there are two human beings that are at risk in this type of scenario: the mother and the baby. In the process, the at-risk group of women inevitably needs vital support from the family in particular and the community in general. In the absence of the family, the community through its resources is very essential in facilitating the pregnant woman whose age is over 40. (At certain respect, the family is part and parcel of the community.) In spite of the unalterable circumstance (i.e., body changes) marked in the at-risk group, the people that surround the pregnant woman have the potential to alleviate, at certain rate, the condition of the childbearing mother. There are two general ways on how the community can effectively help the pregnant woman: first, physical in nature; and second, mental or psychological in orientation. By and large, this group of women needs all the resources that the community can provide. In the physical level, the pregnant woman needs nourishment for insuring not only the safety of herself as a mother but also of the baby him- or herself. Through community resources (e.g., food provision), the daily bread, so to say, of the pregnant woman are satisfactorily meet. Of course, proper diet or food must be secured. The community -- perhaps through its medical personnel such as nurses -- has to comprehend that diet or food choice is greatly cultural in character (Orshan, 2008). In the psychological level, pregnant women whose age is over 40 essentially seek human communication as a reinforcement of moral support as they undergo childbearing. Women in this age bracket have apparently different psychological or social-oriented needs in contrast to the younger childbearing mothers. In its menopausal crisis, at-risk group of women must be given an utmost attention which is appropriate in its context. Evidently, they need a community of people who will understand their current woes. In lieu to this at-risk group of women, there are two key community resources heavily used in today’s world: first is the home visitation; and second is the yoga-centered society. For the home visitation, on the one hand, the health care professionals regularly visit their patient or pregnant woman; the home is considered as the “common care setting” for all the people of different walks of life -- including pregnant women (Ricci & Kyle, 2009). In this type of community resources, it is the government program (e.g., Medicare) that pays for the services given by these health care personnel. Similar to the communication process between family members, the nurse or health care representative asks questions that are psychologically stimulating to the pregnant mother. For instance, the nurse inquires to the patient’s day-to-day condition: “How are you? How do you feel?” (Littleton & Engebretson, 2002). Apparently, this kind of questions evokes care and love from the person asking. Through these questions, the inquiring nurse attempts to connect to the pregnant woman as if they are one family. In essence, it is helpful for the pregnant woman since it provides social and/or psychological reinforcement to the patient. For the yoga-centered organization, on the other hand, the pregnant mother whose age is over 40 joins to a certain society in which its members do yoga activities. In this community-resource type, the yoga participant is basically the one who pays for the services provided in the yoga activity. To assist the childbearing woman, a yoga instructor is present. With professional skills, the instructor guides the body movement of the yoga enthusiast. The body of the pregnant woman is revitalized. And since yoga is also mental in nature, it gives forth mental energy to the yoga practitioner. However, yoga exercise does not only end there; as a society, it also builds social ties among its members. With similar passion or interest (i.e., yoga), the members -- including pregnant mothers in their late years -- are able to provide among one another a sense of community, family, and bond. As a whole, yoga-centered society is helpful for the pregnant woman’s physiological and mental make-up. If I were to choose among the available community resources to be catered to the at-risk group, I would suggest the traditional way of caring the pregnant mothers whose age is over 40: hospital care. It is known that this age bracket of women is a fragile period for their state or condition both physical and psychological. They need hospital care less than yoga exercise or home visitation. (This is to assume that I have sufficient financial and time resources to be allocated to the pregnant mothers.) In yoga as a community resource, on the one hand, the danger is apparent for the safety of the woman who is under the menopausal stage. Women in their late forties are sensitive, bodily and mentally. To exercise further might jeopardize their successful childbearing. In home visitation, on the other hand, its problem lies on the fact that visitation by the health care personnel is far from daily visitation. The implication here is that when the woman is about to give birth to her baby and the nurse is not around -- that is, the time of visitation fails to coincide with the time of delivering the baby from the mother’s womb -- things or events become complicated if further compounded by the distance of the home to the hospital. Hospital kind of care, however, is generally safe and healthy for the at-risk group. In fact, pregnant women of such age (i.e., over 40) are required to lie in bed to avoid an unwanted miscarriage. By and large, hospital care is very helpful for this at-risk group because it provides an utmost, necessary, and professional care from the doctors and nurses working in such hospital institution. Based from this project, I have learned that there are many and varied community resources available for the at-risk group of pregnant women whose age is over 40. Of the numerous community resources, I believed that there is one among these resources that fit to a particular need of a particular group. Human beings are, after all, complex in nature. There are some older women, for instance, who are able to safely deliver their babies; others in the same age bracket, however, find it hard to deliver them. Thus, every unique need has a corresponding unique resource. Whether or not I feel positive about the existing community resources out there, I think that what matters most is the scope of the economic resources that the pregnant woman possesses. Of course, there is Medicare program that the government -- a much higher form of community -- provides for its citizens. Nevertheless, the present health program somehow fails to give adequate and satisfactory services to the many marginalized people living in the United States. References Abma, J. C., & Martinez, G. M. (2006). Childlessness among older women in the United States: Trends and profiles. Journal of Marriage and Family, 68 (4), 1045+. Klossner, N. J. (2006). Introductory maternity nursing. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Littleton, L. Y., & Engebretson, J. C. (2002). Maternity, neonatal, and women’s health nursing. Albany, NY: Thomas Learning. Orshan, S. A. (2008). Maternity, newborn, & women’s health nursing: Comprehensive care across the life span. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Ricci, S. S., & Kyle, T. (2009). Maternity and pediatric nursing. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Read More