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Age and Fertility
Oct 3, 2008
Age and Fertility
In recent years, more and more women are waiting until their 30s and 40s to start a family. In the U.S., about 20 percent of women have their first child after age 35. Unfortunately, infertility increases with age ― about one third of women over 35 have fertility problems.
As you get older, your chance of getting pregnant declines. At age 30 your chance of getting pregnant naturally is approximately 20%; at age 40 it drops to approximately 5%.
Older women are more likely to have health problems or biological issues that interfere or affect fertility.
Quality and Quantity of Eggs
As you age, the quality and quantity of your eggs significantly deteriorates. Your risk of infertility increases because you have fewer eggs in your ovaries and the quality of those eggs is lower than when you were younger. Egg quantity and quality begins to decline in your late 30s and declines more rapidly in your early 40s.
Your menstrual cycle and ovulation may also grow increasingly irregular as you get older and can lead to fertility problems.
Chromosomal Problems and Miscarriage
As you age, the eggs remaining in your ovaries are more likely to develop abnormalities in their chromosomes. These abnormalities lessen your chances of getting pregnant and increase your risk for miscarriage. In fact, at least one half of all miscarriages are due to abnormal chromosomes.
The risk of miscarriage also increases with age. Several studies show that a woman under 30 years old has a 5 percent chance of having a miscarriage. Wait until you’re 35-39 years old to get pregnant and that risk increases to 16 percent. If you’re 44-46 years old, you have a 60 percent chance of having a miscarriage.
All these fertility problems tie in together. Older women have an increased risk for miscarriage due to the increase in chromosomal abnormalities in their eggs. In addition, lower quality eggs also raise the risk of chromosomal abnormalities and miscarriage.
IVF Success and Age
Fertility clinics usually allow a woman to use her own eggs only until somewhere between the ages of 42 and 45. One way to try to overcome the effects of aging on fertility is through the use of fertility treatments like in vitro fertilization (IVF) or third party reproduction such as egg or embryo donation.
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This is very educating.Thanks for enlightening me.
Hello, my wife is 40 will be 41 this year, she had a tube tired when she had her last kid, we would like to reverse it ad have one more baby and also would like to find out more about fertility so if you can let us know our chances of been able to have baby
If you can afford it, I would say do the IVF. I had a tubal reversal 5 years ago at age 35.....I'm about to turn 40 and we still haven't had a baby. I've had 4 miscarriages all at about 5 weeks and the emotional pain is hard. If we could afford it we would do the IVF but it's expensive. Good Luck!!
I Thought I Was Infertile But Contrary To My Doctor's Prediction, I Got Pregnant Twice and Naturally Gave Birth To My Beautiful Healthy Children At Age 43, After Years of "Trying".You Can Too! Thanks to " Pregnancy Miracle "
As you may know that you have 2 options: 1. tubal reversal, and 2. IVF. Considering pros and cons for both options, I am leaning towards IVF. The reasons I recommend for IVF are following: 1. The chance you may take home a healthy baby is slightly higher with IVF. 2. Less risk of tubal pregnancy. The cost for both procedures is comparable. Considering you both are healthy and she had multiple children in the past, I think the chance you will have another baby is good.
I am 46 and TTC. My husband is 48 . My periods are regular and due to my age my doctor quickly prescribed chlomaid @ 50mg in DEC 09. We have been TTC for 4 months, my GYN just increased me to 100mg of chlomaid, but he has not done any type of testing on me,. I don't want to waste time if we should be trying something else or if there are other issues that have not been uncovered. I have a 19 year old daughter and my husband and I are wanting another child. Time is of essence. What should we be asking our doctor regarding testing to determine if there are any other factors preventing us from conceiving. Desperate and aging !
if you haven't by now, get to a fertility specialist immediately. your doctor should be doing all kinds of bloodwork on a monthly basis to test your FSH levels and also myriad of other things that can lead to you not getting pregnant. as you know, time is not on your side....find a doctor that only specializes in infertility. chlomid, while works for some, doesn't tend to work on us "older" women...and IUI is also something they will probably steer you toward with injectible hormones instead of the chlomid....hope this helps.
hi: I am a 39 year old lesbian... I want to get pregnant... I have done blood work and a vaginal ultrasound and my uterus seems to be fine... I am working with a doctor overseas and instead of doing artificial insemination through IUI he want to do in vitro... is this procedure too agrssive? any risks? am I better off trying IUI?
Hi, My partner & I are doing IUI's to try & get pregnant. Tomorrow will be our 6th try! If we had the money I would concider IVF but the IUI with sperm purchase is still about $1,000 a month. There are lots of ways to get info but a good site is the CCB (california Cryo bank) There is a same sex forum that is nice & supportive. Good luck! & Baby Blessings <3
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