she has some pointers for older parents especially moms fix your diet whether you are trying to conceive or already pregnant its important to cut down on fast food but we were both busy in our careers and we really wanted to travel the world keep pace with the world that the child will inhabitgurgaonbased behavioural counsellor saveera dugal bahl has some words of advice for couples who have embraced parenthood at an older age 1 in fact one of the primary concerns of late parenthood especially motherhood is healthrelated problems for both the mother and the child maybe if i was in my 20s or 30s i would have more energy but this is a fact that i need to live with and manage but here too i see a bright ray she would be taking some of her crucial decisions in her life without the pressure from her father timely health checkups once you have conceived its important for women to go for timely blood tests and ultrasounds including those that reveal chromosomal anomaly if any in the unborn child women get upset when people point this out but the fact is we do have a biological clock this means all their expectations are concentrated on that child which can create undue pressure on the kid 2 priya sethi a financial analyst who had her daughter six months post her 39th birthday shares i got married when i was 29 make lifestyle changes get fitparenting is no mean task and for those who have decided to embrace this lifechanging experience later in life doctors say that they need to put in extra effort to stay fit yes there are few things that we wish never happened but those were not in our control i am working and managing a home and it does feel overwhelming at times she adds that throughout her pregnancy she remained active doing regular household chores and going to office till the eighth month 3 my husband was also keen on investing in a property which we eventually did fivesix years into our marriage and only then did we start thinking of having a child the banjara hills hyderabad resident has a kind of philosophical view of the matter not just during pregnancy but also while trying to conceive as well as after the birth of the child whatever my doctor said the medicines she suggested or the tests i followed the instructions religiously when i was trying to conceive and even during the pregnancy says sonalika it took us seven years to complete it the risk of a child having down syndrome is higher in case of older parents so these tests while they are expensive become all the more essential fortyoneyearold sonam irani was 39 when she had her daughter problems compound in late pregnancy we were in such high work pressure zone that parenthood was out of question stay away from carbonated drinks and canned juices regular