Regarding genetic abnormalities, a process called amniocentesis can be performed before the 16th week of pregnancy. It is suggested that this screening be done earlier in pregnancy. Amniocentesis is a fetal screening process in which fluid is taken from the amniotic sac and cells are taken from the fluid and a culture is created from the cells. You should consider this as doctors may then examine the culture to indicate genetic or chromosomal abnormalities. I will however warn you that it contains the risk of causing a miscarriage. Due to the fact that you are conceiving at this age, it is advisable to undergo some sort of screening and in fact it is quite the norm for women approaching forty to undergo this. There is a procedure that can be done later in pregnancy but has a higher risk of miscarriage. If you and your doctor come to the conclusion that this is not the path you want to go down, a blood test can be done on both of you to detect neural tube defects such as spina bifida and some chromosomal abnormalities. This process is called alpha-fetoprotein. If you want to eliminate any risk of additional miscarriage from amniocentesis, you should choose to talk to your doctor about the latter of the two