Advanced Maternal Age Pregnancy, Dr. Rad High-Risk OBGYN

Advanced Maternal Age

Did you know that about 53 of every 1,000 women wait until they are between the ages of 35 to 39 to give birth? That’s a dramatic upward trend. Consider that in 1970, the average age of childbirth was about 21 years old, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

So, what does this mean? For one thing, mothers are getting older and wiser. It also means that these women are slightly more susceptible to high-risk pregnancies.

Many women entering pregnancy at an advanced age consult with Dr. Rad. The doctor is double-board certified as an Obstetrician-Gynecologist with sub-specialty training in Maternal-Fetal Medicine.

What is advanced maternal age?

Advanced maternal age, according to the American Medical Association, is being 35 or older at the time of giving birth.

Advanced maternal pregnancy guidelines

There are several steps that women 35 or older can take to have a healthy pregnancy. These advanced maternal pregnancy guidelines begin before conceiving.

Preconception checkup

Get a preconception checkup. This doctor’s visit ensures that you are healthy before becoming pregnant. Discuss your overall health, lifestyle choices, and apprehensions you may have about pregnancy.

Confer with your physician about any remarkable family history and medicines you are currently taking.

Manage chronic conditions

Be up to date on treatment for chronic conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure (hypertension), and depression. Discuss what medications you are taking for these conditions; some medicines are not safe for pregnancy.

Folic acid/Folate

Ingest 400 micrograms of folic acid each day. This vitamin helps your body make new cells. Taking folic acid before and during pregnancy can help prevent birth defects.

Healthy lifestyle

If you are not already, trim down to a healthy weight. Eat healthily and get plenty of exercise. Problems during pregnancy may arise if you are over or underweight.

Refrain from drinking alcohol, smoking, using recreational drugs, and abuse of prescription medicine. If you need help, your doctor can refer you to an addiction expert.

Avoid unsafe chemicals

Remove any unsafe chemicals at home and work, such as cleaning products and paint.

Decreases stress

Try and reduce your level of stress. Your doctor may have some suggestions such as yoga and meditation.

Call (844) 473-6100 or click here to schedule online

Advanced maternal age risks

While advanced maternal age can put you at increased risk, the following problems can occur in pregnancy at any age. Difficulties, however, become more prevalent after the age of 35. Remember: most moms have healthy babies.

Infertility

Older parents are more likely to have difficulty getting pregnant. If you have tried unsuccessfully for six months to become pregnant, talk to your doctor about seeing a fertility specialist.

One alternate option is in vitro fertilization (IVF), a procedure used to prevent genetic problems or assist with the conception of a child.

Medical complications

High blood pressure, diabetes, and gestational diabetes can cause difficulties such as the risk of miscarriage, growth complications, and troubles during birth.

Premature birth

Older parents are at higher risk of preterm delivery. This is when the baby is delivered before 37 weeks. Preterm babies can experience health difficulties later in life.

Multiple pregnancy

As women age, they are more prone to give birth to multiples (twins, triplets). This can be especially prevalent if the mother is undergoing fertility treatments.

Being pregnant with multiples may cause problems such as premature birth, pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes, or problems with the babies’ growth.

Birth defects

The risk of birth defects, such as Down syndrome, rises with older women. Other genetic difficulties are more common because the woman’s eggs (oocytes) are older and may form an embryo with too many or too few chromosomes.

Other risks include miscarriage (pregnancy loss), congenital heart defects, hypospadias (abnormal male urethra), craniosynostosis (abnormal skull growth), club foot, and diaphragmatic hernia.

Placenta previa

With this condition, the placenta sits low in the uterus and partially or completely covers the cervix. This can cause extensive bleeding during birth. Even though rare, this condition affects women in their 40s three times as often as women in their 20s.

How to minimize advanced maternal age complications

Advanced maternal age pregnancy risks are a reality. The good news is you can mitigate these potential dangers by establishing a strong relationship with Dr. Rad.

The doctor can guide you through prenatal screening and testing. These tests let you know if your baby has an existing or potential problem before birth. These results also help Dr. Rad manage your pregnancy and plan for labor and delivery.

Dr. Rad may also order genetic testing or suggest you see a genetic counselor to learn, before birth, if your baby has underlying chromosomal abnormalities.

More about Dr. Rad

Dr. Rad and his world-class obstetrics and gynecology team at Los Angeles Fetal and Maternal Care understand your healthcare needs before, during, and after birth. Our doctors provide compassionate care and help you understand your pregnancy, answer questions, and provide emotional support to safely navigate your pregnancy.

Dr. Rad has undergone rigorous training with high honors at prestigious, renowned institutions such as the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, USC, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and UCSF Medical Center, as well as centers internationally in London, Austria, Israel, and Africa.

We are conveniently located for patients throughout Southern California and the Los Angeles area at locations in or near Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, West Los Angeles, West Hollywood, Culver City, Hollywood, Venice, Marina del Rey, Malibu, Manhattan Beach, Newport Beach, Irvine, and Downtown Los Angeles. We also offer in-home prenatal care and a fly-in program for out-of-town and international patients. Dr. Rad even travels to patients who need him throughout the U.S. and around the world.
If you can’t make it to Dr. Rad, he also offers virtual consultations worldwide.

Call us at (844) 473-6100 to schedule your consultation. We are currently accepting new patients.

Call (844) 473-6100 or click here to schedule online

Stories from Our Blog for You:

What is an Advanced Fetal Ultrasound? Do I Need One?

Can Dads Have Postpartum Depression? You Might Be Surprised!

Dr. Rad Voted One of Pasadena’s Top Doctors!

Get a Second Opinion on Your High-Risk Pregnancy

Rainbow Clinic Offers Support and Hope After Pregnancy Loss or Neonatal Death

Why Don’t Americans Have Adequate Access to Fertility Treatment Options?

What Are High-Risk Pregnancies, and Why Are They Increasing?

Welcome to the New Website of Dr. Rad and the Maternal Fetal Care Center

Affiliations, Organizations & Training Include:

Our journey with Dr.Rad and his amazing team started when my wife was at her 12 week and we were looking for the best doctor in California to perform the Amniocentesis. Google didn't disappoint us and we were lucky to come across Dr. Rad. The exam has its risks and we thought a lot about doing it but after a warm and friendly call with Dr. Rad we gained a lot of confidence in his skills and experience.

Living in San Francisco, my wife would visit her own OBGYN clinic through the early stages of her pregnancy, and often would meet different doctors each visit. Despite being a 10 minutes call from the other side of California, Dr. Rad had let us feel that we're in good hands before we even met.

A few weeks later, we drove down to LA for the Amniocentesis and from that moment on we decided that we want him to be my wife's doctor. Believe it or not, but having someone like him in LA was one of the decision factors leaving San Francisco.

Dr. Rad was always there for us, regardless of what time it was or what his schedule looked like. He's on a different level of devotion and dedication to his patients and it is clear to see that he loves what he's doing. The clinic itself is beautiful, and feels more like a SPA than a clinic. Everything is decorated with flowers, candles and essential oils with classical music playing in the background. No matter how scary a first pregnancy can be, when we were there, we felt confident.

The most important thing for us throughout the pregnancy was the sense of having someone there, ready to answer any question we had. With any concern we had during the pregnancy, Dr. Rad would have us come over and get my wife checked immediately. This might sound obvious if this is the first time choosing a doctor but in the SF clinic (which is considered one of the best), we were sent to E.R since they didn't have the time to check her.

Dr. Rad's team was absolutely amazing. Every time we came over it felt like visiting friends... Every single one of them is a real professional! Whether it's Brittany with her ultrasound skills that seems as if she's been doing it for 50 years or Alyssa that was there for every single question and helped us a lot throughout the process. We will surely miss you guys and see you in the next round 🙂

We did a lot of preparation for the delivery and participated in a few workshops, but Dr. Rad made sure that Beth, a long time midwife at Cedars Sinai, will come over and walk us through the process. We wouldn't exaggerate if we said that after speaking to her, we felt like it was our second time around.

Our first baby boy was delivered by Dr. Rad smoothly without any issues and surprises. The entire team was very supportive and respectful to my wife's requests. We couldn't be happier to have chosen Dr. Steve Rad, his stellar team and the amazing staff at Cedars Sinai.

...

Avner Yaacov

I am not normally someone to write reviews, however it is important for women to know that Dr Rad and this type of medical care exists. If you have been searching for an OB who is smart, compassionate, kind, respectful to you and your partner, spends time and makes you feel SAFE then Dr Rad is the doctor for you. It does not matter if your pregnancy journey is high or low risk. Physically, I had a low risk, mostly uncomplicated pregnancy with my second baby but mentally, I was carrying a lot of medical and hospital trauma from my first birth and wanted specialized care this time around. Dr Rad listened to me and my husband, created a plan with us that included hybrid midwifery care/minimal interventions and he gave us access to him as if I was always his top priority for my entire pregnancy and postpartum period. When things changed at the end of my pregnancy and I required a hospital birth instead of the unmediated VBAC I was pursuing Dr Rad still honored my wishes and was by my side or one text/call away every step of the way. His delivery of our beautiful baby girl at Providence St John’s gave us a night and day experience compared to the birth of my first child with a different OB at Cedars Sinai. His accessibility and referrals during postpartum assured me that my life and well-being truly matter to him. As a black woman, it is rare to feel cared for in this way by any medical provider. While the out of pocket costs for Dr Rad’s services are initially difficult to stomach, they are well worth it and I don’t regret anything when it comes to choosing Dr Rad.

Cal Dee Renfroe

I feel so happy to have been able to visit Dr. Rad, after being told by another high risk pregnancy doctor that my baby had NO kidneys or bladder and would not survive, Dr. Rad found bladder and both kidneys! My baby I knew always had a chance and I did not believe the 1st specialist at all which is why I went for a second opinion with Dr. Rad. 10/10 he was welcoming, supportive, friendly and gave me all my options going forward. God sent!

leslie serna

I cannot find words to express my gratitude to the best Doctor and the kindest person Steve Rad. My baby girl is alive because of him. The story is that during my pregnancy I was seeing another doctor in UCLA. At the 20th week of my pregnancy I went for the ultrasound and after the procedure without doing any other examination the doctor said that the baby has some developmental issues. There is some liquid in the brain, the chest is growing wrong, etc. I was terrified with the news and asked is there a chance that he is wrong, maybe we need to do other examinations, maybe he hasn’t seen everything right. To all that questions “doctor” answered that we can do MRI and other exams, but he is more than sure that the baby is growing wrong and he suggests to do an abortion. He said that the results will come in a month or two but the latest abortion date is 23 weeks, so we need to hurry with out decision. Before making decision we decided to find the best specialist in high risk pregnancy for the second opinion. After some research we found Dr. Rad and that changed our lives. After the first ultrasound Dr. Rad said that he doesn’t see anything wrong, that he is more than sure that baby is okay, and the MRI will proof his words. He told do not even think about abortion, because the baby is 100% fine. Like he said the MRI results proved his words.
The second thing I would like to mention is the exceptional service that he provides to all his patients. When I found out that he has many famous patients I was worried weather he is providing the same service to his regular patients or not. The answer surprised me. He treats all his patients like they are his one and only patient. Usually appointments with Dr. Rad last approximately two hours. He needs to be sure that he has seen everything, answered to all your questions. He is one of the few professionals who is worried about quality of his work not quantity of the patients. Also, he is available on phone whenever you need him. He replied to my text messages within maximum 5 minutes during my whole pregnancy. Also I.would like to say thank you to his amazing team. You are absolutely The Best!

Lilit Ginosyan

Dr Rad and his staff are wonderful. They were such a positive part of our parenthood journey. Being first-time parents, we had lots of questions and Dr Rad and his staff always thoroughly explained everything to us. While the wait is sometimes long, we found it was always because Dr Rad was managing an emergency situation or delivering difficult news to a patient, which understandably, was his first priority. The staff also always communicated proactively with us about wait-time so we knew what was going on. I joked on our last visit that I’m going to have to have another baby just so we can all hang out more 🙂

Sara Williams

I came to Dr. Rad with a history of blood clots which made my pregnancy high risk. Since day one, Dr. Rad and his team were so welcoming and really nice- Always answering our questions, explaining everything on each ultrasound and check-up.
They consistently checked up on us each week to see how we were doing and when we needed guidance or had a concern, Dr. Rad always called right away.
I’m so happy we decided to put my pregnancy care in the hands of Dr. Rad and his team.

Ana De Flon

I was an intern at Dr. Rad's office. This internship gave me a valuable opportunity to learn so much!
Dr. Rad is very detailed and thorough with his exams, and he really takes his time with all his patients to give them the best care possible. They have an excellent sonographer, Brittany, who is also very meticulous, and she is great at what she does. The entire team is genuinely kind and caring. This is a calm, safe place to receive medical care, and everyone is attentive and knowledgeable. I had an absolutely wonderful experience at Dr. Rad's office!
They go above and beyond for every patient; they truly love what they do!

Giselle Lopera

I cannot speak highly enough of Dr. Rad and his office team. From my very first visit, I felt welcomed and cared for like family. Dr. Rad was incredibly kind, detailed, and attentive to every detail of my prenatal care. He always went the extra mile to make sure that no prenatal screenings were missed, even making time for appointments on weekends. That level of dedication and commitment is truly remarkable.

What truly sets Dr. Rad apart is his unwavering focus and dedication to his patients. His appointments easily went upto 2 hours sometimes given how detailed and thorough he is. He always took the time to answer all of my questions with patience and understanding, and addressed any concerns that I had. With him, I was always confident that my baby was in the best possible hands. His team is just as dedicated and caring, and they were always there for me whenever I needed them. Special shout out to Laurice too for always being there, even after hours and weekends.

In short, I couldn't be more grateful for the care I received from this doctor and his team. They made my pregnancy journey a joy, and I'm going to miss my visits now that my baby is here. If you're looking for a doctor who is incredibly knowledgeable, caring, and dedicated, look no further. You want Dr. Rad and his team by your side.

Priya Tomar

Thank you Dr. Rad and team for helping me through my pregnancy after loss. Our son was stillborn May 2021 at 37 weeks due to a knot in his umbilical cord. We were referred to Dr. Rad through PUSH for Empowered Pregnanxy. We met with him a couple of months after our loss to discuss the plan for PAL to make sure it would be the right fit. Once we found out we were pregnant, I called him immediately and he saw me that week. The journey was long and the team was there every step of the way. PAL is full of anxiety and never knowing if your baby is going to make it. I came in weekly and no one ever made me feel bad for wanting to check on my baby. In our third trimester, we found out our baby had an ovarian cyst and Dr. rad knew this would cause us some anxiety even though most likely benign and suggested us to get an MRI for peace of mind. As we approached induction date, I noticed a dip in fetal movement. I was admitted to the hospital with the support of Dr. rad for five days before induction to monitor the baby. She came out perfect and we couldn’t believe it. Thank you Dr rad and team for all your work. You work nonstop for your patients!

Rachel Gould