"Do you think I am too old to have a baby?" or "do you think I stand a
chance of getting pregnant & having a baby?" These are the questions
I am frequently asked by women who are trying to conceive & are in
their late 30's to mid 40's. Unfortunately, this is a question where
there really is no definitive answer as each couples situation is very
individual. Therefore, this question can really only be answered in
retrospect after both prospective parents have done everything possible
to support conception & a healthy pregnancy & baby.
Statistically, in women it appears that optimal fertility is before the
age of 30 - 31 years & that fertility then gradually decreases with
an acceleration towards the age of 40 years old. For instance, at age 40
a women's fertility is approximately a 1/4 of what it was when she was
30 years old.
Our current understanding around female reproduction is that a women is born with all her eggs [approximately 1/2 million] & then with the onset of her menstrual cycle, she will lose between 20-30 follicles with each cycle & eventually run out of eggs. However, recent studies on female rats are questioning, is it that women are running out of eggs or is it that her eggs are becoming less responsive to hormone signals? Certainly, we know that at around 10 years before a women goes through menopause her ovaries go through a process called "oopause" in which her ovaries become less responsive to hormone changes in her body & less responsive to sperm.
Our current understanding around female reproduction is that a women is born with all her eggs [approximately 1/2 million] & then with the onset of her menstrual cycle, she will lose between 20-30 follicles with each cycle & eventually run out of eggs. However, recent studies on female rats are questioning, is it that women are running out of eggs or is it that her eggs are becoming less responsive to hormone signals? Certainly, we know that at around 10 years before a women goes through menopause her ovaries go through a process called "oopause" in which her ovaries become less responsive to hormone changes in her body & less responsive to sperm.
The Good News!
So what does all this mean for the mature women trying to conceive? Can a women who is forty plus conceive naturally? Yes absolutely, women have always had babies in their early 40's long before IVF & other artificial reproductive technologies [ART] were around. What is different today is that women are often trying to conceive their first child in their late 30's & early 40's as opposed to conceiving their 5th or 6th child.
In fact for women over 42 years they have a higher chance of conceiving naturally than they do through IVF [this does not include other ART procedures such as ICSI or egg donation].
The good news is there is a lot you can do to improve your egg quality & responsiveness. In terms of your ability to conceive & have a baby, the quality & responsiveness of your eggs & ovaries is far more important than the number of eggs you have.
So what does all this mean for the mature women trying to conceive? Can a women who is forty plus conceive naturally? Yes absolutely, women have always had babies in their early 40's long before IVF & other artificial reproductive technologies [ART] were around. What is different today is that women are often trying to conceive their first child in their late 30's & early 40's as opposed to conceiving their 5th or 6th child.
In fact for women over 42 years they have a higher chance of conceiving naturally than they do through IVF [this does not include other ART procedures such as ICSI or egg donation].
The good news is there is a lot you can do to improve your egg quality & responsiveness. In terms of your ability to conceive & have a baby, the quality & responsiveness of your eggs & ovaries is far more important than the number of eggs you have.
