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Cameron Diaz gave birth to her second child with husband, Benji Madden, in March this year at the age of 51. This comes as no surprise given that the last fifty years has seen a global trend of increasing maternal age thanks to the wider availability of assisted reproductive technologies, more job opportunities for women and improved financial stability later on in their lives.
But what are the risks involved in becoming a mother after the age of 35?
Dr Donee van Rooyen, a gynaecologist and obstetrician based in Cape Town, says that approximately 17% of all pregnancies in South Africa occur in women who are older than 35. Globally, the percentage is slightly higher at 20%. With this amount of pregnancies in older women, the risks and complications for the woman and her baby are varied.
