Does Age Affect Pregnancy Rates
It will take you a bit longer to get pregnant if you are older in age. This is because the quality of your egg eventually declines with age. This means that of all the eggs available, only a few of them will be able to join with a sperm and be able to produce a healthy baby. On the other side, male fertility rates stay the same and do not decline until around the age 50.
About 86 percent of the healthy fertile women will get pregnant in their early 20s if they have been trying to conceive for a year. The rate declines to about 63 percent of healthy, fertile women who are in their early 30s and 36 percent of them in their early 40s. Whereas, almost equal to zero percent of the women are able to get pregnant by the age of 45.
Other Fertility Factors To Consider
As a rule of thumb, your fertility should go back to the way it was before you started birth control. If you had regular cycles before, you should have regular cycles again.
Your age may also play a part. That is because fertility drops as you get older. This is especially true once you turn 35.
There has been a lot of research on the return of fertility after stopping birth control. A review of studies showed that birth control use does not harm fertility. Pregnancy rates within one year of stopping birth control look like this:
- Birth control pill: 72% to 94%
- Condom/barrier method: 94%
- Progestin-only birth control: 70% to 95%
- Natural family planning: 92%
- IUD: 71% to 96%
What Should Women Do To Prepare Once They Decide To Start Trying To Get Pregnant
Once you decide to start trying to get pregnant, it is important to start a prenatal vitamin that contains at least 400 mcg of folate. Taking folate before pregnancy can reduce the risk of neural tube defects. In addition, start paying attention to your diet and overall health. Starting pregnancy at a normal weight and with conditions like diabetes and hypertension well controlled improves your chances of a healthy pregnancy and baby.
Read Also: Can You Use Vagisil When Pregnant
How To Get Pregnant Over 40
Last Updated: June 29, 2021References
This article was co-authored by Carrie Noriega, MD. Dr. Noriega is a Board Certified Obstetrician & Gynecologist and medical writer in Colorado. She specializes in womens health, rheumatology, pulmonology, infectious disease, and gastroenterology. She received her MD from the Creighton School of Medicine in Omaha, Nebraska and completed her residency at the University of Missouri – Kansas City in 2005.There are 13 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been viewed 60,677 times.
It used to be fairly uncommon for women over the age of 40 to have children, but many women are now delaying pregnancy to finish their educations or get established in their careers.XTrustworthy SourceMayo ClinicEducational website from one of the world’s leading hospitalsGo to source Although it can be more difficult to conceive after 40, it is still possible to get pregnant. Try conceiving naturally and then consider fertility treatments if you have any difficulty getting pregnant.
Tips For Getting Pregnant After Depo Shots
To accelerate the process and increase your chances of getting pregnant after stopping the shots, you can take a few extra steps.
1. Know When Youre Ovulating
If you make note of your periods, youll get a better grasp on when to expect it and therefore when you might be ovulating.
Ovulation calendars and apps are incredibly helpful in this respect, as are ovulation tests.
Make sure you really understand ovulation and dont fall for the many ovulation myths floating around.
The Ava Fertility tracker shown in the image below is one of the most reliable ways to scientifically determine when youre ovulating. Since ovulation will usually be irregular after stopping Depo shots, its an easy way to discover when you are.
2. Have More Sex
Its an obvious one but increasing your sexual activity will undoubtedly enhance your chances of getting pregnant.
Every day is good if youre up to it, but especially for the days between when your period ends and ovulation begins.
These are usually days 5-14 of your cycle.
3. Try a Progesterone Detox Diet
Some women begin a progesterone detox diet thought to eliminate lingering progesterone in their bodies.
The diet can include water, fruits, vegetables, herbal tea, and turmeric.
Although Depo Provera shots are intended for women who do not want to get pregnant againat least, not anytime soonit is more than possible to achieve a pregnancy in the months following the stopping of the shots.
Also Check: Can I Use Vagisil Wash While Pregnant
Ready To Try For A Baby Heres What You Need To Do Next
Youve stopped birth control. Youve started to track your cycle. Now what?
In addition to these steps, we recommend that you make a preconception appointment. A preconception appointment is like an annual physical, but also includes additional care and focus on family planning and pregnancy. You can also check out our robust pregnancy and parenting resources page, which includes all kinds of tips and information for every stage of pregnancy including planning.
It may take a few weeks to get an appointment, so schedule your preconception checkup early on. During your visit, youll also be able to talk about any specific questions or concerns you have.
Were ready if youre ready. Schedule a preconception checkup today.
Lets First Look At How Pregnancy Happens
To get pregnant ovulation must take place. This occurs when a mature egg is released from the ovary, pushed through the fallopian tube, and is available to the sperm for fertilization. The lining of the uterus has thickened to prepare for a fertilized egg. If conception does not occur, the uterine lining will be shed. This shedding of an unfertilized egg and the uterine wall is called menstruation.
Also Check: Can I Use Vagisil Wipes While Pregnant
Q: Can You Get Pregnant Four Days After You Have Your Period
A: Every woman has a different “fertile” time based on her cycle length and hormone regularity. The first day of your menses is Day #1 of your cycle. It is impossible to become pregnant on Day #4 of your cycle because there’s not enough time to mature an egg in 4 days. However, if you are not having a “regular” cycle each month then your ovulation may not be “normal.” It is always best to practice safe contraception if you do not have cycles that are regular enough for “natural family planning” and if you do not want to become pregnant.
Answered by Dr. Marra Francis
How Common Is Infertility
According to RESOLVE, 1 out of every 8 couples, or 12 percent of women, have trouble getting pregnant or carrying a pregnancy to term.
When should you see a doctor about infertility?
- if youre 35 or younger and youve been trying to get pregnant for a year
- if youre over age 35 and youve been trying for more than 6 months
If you know you have a health condition that affects your fertility, see your doctor sooner.
Read Also: Can I Use Vagisil Wash While Pregnant
How Much Sperm Is Produced By A Healthy Male
Unlike women, who are born with a lifetimes supply of eggs, men are not born with all of the sperm they will have in their lifetime. In fact, the average man produces 1,500 new sperm every minute.
Sperm are produced in the testicles and take 60 to 70 days to mature. Immature sperm that are not fully formed cannot fertilize an egg. A normal semen sample should contain at least 50 percent normal, mature sperm.
Semen needs a healthy concentration of sperm for optimal fertility. Fertile semen contains at least 20 million sperm per mL, with a total volume of at least 2 mL.
In other words, a healthy male should release at least 40 million sperm per ejaculation. Anything less than 15 million sperm per mL is considered a low sperm count, also known as oligozoospermia.
Sperm volume isnt the only factor that matters for fertility. Quality is just as important as quantity. Of the sperm released in a typical ejaculation, at least 75% should be alive and viable, and at least 50% should be motile at least one hour after ejaculation, for the best odds of conception.
Am I Pregnant 12 Early Signs Of Pregnancy
So you have conquered the first step, how to get pregnant. And when you find out you are pregnant, it can be the start of a remarkable, life-changing experience. That journey often starts with the question: “Am I pregnant?”
The first sign is usually a missed period, followed by a pregnancy test, said Lia Moss, a certified nurse midwife at Northwestern Medicine, who delivers babies at Prentice Women’s Hospital in Chicago.
Pregnancy tests, whether done at home or at a doctor’s office, measure the amount of human chorionic gonadotropin in a woman’s urine or blood. This hormone is released when a fertilized egg attaches to the lining of the uterus. Urine pregnancy tests can detect levels of hCG about 10 days after conception, Moss told Live Science, while blood tests, usually done at a doctor’s office, can detect a pregnancy about seven to 10 days after conception. Testing too soon can produce a false negative result. A woman’s due date is calculated from the first day of her last period.
Women typically experience many of the early signs of pregnancy, with the most common symptoms being fatigue, breast tenderness, nausea and bloating, Moss said. But not all women will have the same symptoms in early pregnancy or experience them to the same extent.
“The first trimester can be very hard for some women,” Moss said, but after that many mothers-to-be start feeling better.
Here are 12 clues that a woman may notice during her first trimester to indicate she may be pregnant.
Recommended Reading: Can I Use Vagisil Wash While Pregnant
How Long Will It Take To Get Pregnant
Most hormonal birth control methods stop you from ovulating, or releasing an egg. If you do not release an egg, there is nothing for sperm to fertilize. This is why you do not get pregnant.
When you stop using hormonal birth control, you will start ovulating again. When you are ovulating, you are fertile. But a return of fertility does not automatically mean you will get pregnant.
How Long Does It Usually Take To Get Pregnant
If youre trying for a baby, it can help to know the average time to get pregnant so you know what to expect. Lots of people want to know, what are the chances of getting pregnant on the first try? The answer is, about 30%. Not bad odds.
But its also very normal for it to take longer. The majority of people trying to conceive will get pregnant within a year. Stats on how long it takes to conceive do get more precise than this though: a study on couples timing sex around ovulation found the following:
- After one month, 38% were pregnant.
- After three months, 68% were pregnant.
- After six months, 81% were pregnant.
- After 12 months, 92% were pregnant.
As for the average time to get pregnant by age, there havent been any verified studies that give an exact figure of how many weeks it will take. However, experts agree that expectations can look like this:
- Aged 19 to 26: 92% of couples conceive after 1 year and 98% after 2 years.
- Aged 35 to 39: 82% of couples conceive after 1 year and 90% after 2 years.
Recommended Reading: Is It Safe To Use Vagisil Cream While Pregnant
How Long Does It Take
Once a couple starts trying to conceive, they expect and want pregnancy to happen quickly. More than half of women expect to become pregnant within six months, with younger women tending to expect it to happen more quickly. However, in a study of over 1,400 women who had planned their most recent pregnancy, 30-44% found it took longer than expected5.
A common, and easily remedied, factor is mistiming of intercourse6. As many as half of all couples may be trying to conceive at the wrong time, because they dont know when their most fertile days are3.
As the graph above shows, you are most likely to conceive if you time intercourse on the day of ovulation on the day before but you still have a chance of falling pregnant on the days leading up to ovulation.
If you have been trying to get pregnant for longer than a year, it is recommended that you seek medical opinion.
Can Age Affect My Ability To Get Pregnant
If you are over 35 then, perhaps try for just six months before getting help. And if youre 40 or over it is advisable to go and see your doctor as soon as you decide to try for a baby.
The reason the advice above varies by age, is that your age is a key factor in likelihood to get pregnant. A womans natural fertility will already start to decline in her late 20s due to the fact she has fewer eggs and the quality of the remaining eggs is likely to be lower than when she was younger.
After 35 years old egg depletion is at a critical level and after 40 years old the chances of achieving pregnancy are very much lower. This is true not only for natural conception but also for assisted conception.
According to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, about 95% of women aged 35 who have regular unprotected sexual intercourse will get pregnant after three years of trying, but for women aged 38, only 75% will do so2.
The graph above shows the effect of age on the declining chances of conception.
Professor William Ledger, Fertility Specialist
Don’t Miss: Can I Get Lasik While Pregnant
Time Sex With Ovulation:
It has been proven that couples who time sex to coincide with ovulation have chances of getting pregnant faster. Two days before ovulation and the day you ovulate is the best time to have sex. The pregnancy rates of couples who timed sex with ovulation were comparatively higher than those who were still trying to conceive.
- 38% of the couples were pregnant after one cycle.
- 68% of them were pregnant after three cycles
- 81% of them got pregnant after six cycles
- And, 92% were pregnant after 12 cycles.
Before the pregnancy, you should concentrate on maintaining your physical and mental health and get your body ready for pregnancy. Give up all the things that can be a cause of infertility like smoking, drinking, drugs, high amounts of caffeine. Feed your body with excessive nutrients that your body needs for pregnancy. Make sure that you are not underweight or overweight because either of these conditions can cause problems at the time of conceiving. Eat right food and maintain your body weight as recommended by your specialist.
Hope this article was of help to you! Please share your comments/queries/tips with us and help us create a world full of Happy, Healthy and Empowered Women!!
Generally How Long Does It Take To Conceive
The majority of couples become pregnant within six months, says Kenan Omurtag, MD, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Washington University in St. Louis. But if a couple doesnt get pregnant within that window, theres no reason to panic, he adds.
The fact that they havent conceived is not an indictment on their ability to get pregnant, Omurtag says.
By nature, humans arent the most fertile of creatures. On average, the chances of conceiving in a given ovulatory cycle hover around 20 percent, according to a review article published in The Lancet in 2002. That means that 74% of couples with average fertility will become pregnant after six months, and 93 percent after one year.
If its been a year and youre still not pregnant, its time to do a workup to rule out any potential conditions that might be making conceiving more difficult, such as irregular ovulation or low sperm count.
Also Check: Can You Get Lasik Eye Surgery While Pregnant
What Are My Odds Of Conceiving By Age
Overall you’ll very likely become pregnant within several months of enjoyable effort. It may happen faster if you know your cycle and learn to identify when you’re ovulating. Eating well and staying healthy can also play a role, too.
That said, age does affect your chances of getting pregnant. Healthy couples in their 20s have around a 1 in 4 chance of conceiving during any monthly cycle, while the chances for those in their early 30s are around 1 in 5. And while fertility does decline quickly starting in your mid-30s, your odds of having a baby are still far from nil. But the odds drop to around 1 in 10 by age 40.
Fertility Does Not Equal Pregnancy
You may not get pregnant right away even after your fertility returns. Some people become pregnant within a month. Others may try to get pregnant for a long time.
At this point, your ability to get pregnant has nothing to do with previous birth control use. Your age, health, and lifestyle can all make it harder to get pregnant. You may also experience infertility.
You may have concerns after you stop birth control. Talk to your healthcare provider if:
- Your period doesnt come back after three months
- The number of days you have your period changes
- Your cycle is irregular
- There is a major change in how heavy your bleeding is
- You are younger than 35 and have been trying to get pregnant for 12 months
- You are over 35 and have been trying to get pregnant for six months
You May Like: Is It Safe To Donate Plasma While Pregnant
