Why Does Fertility Decline With Age
Age does not absolutely define fertility and, of course, every woman is different. In general, fertility does decline over time, though it is not simply predicted by calendar years. In females from the age of 35 onwards, reproductive potential drops and after the age of 40 there is less than a 10% chance of becoming pregnant naturally in any given month. The reason for this declining fertility, which reduces the chances of pregnancy and inexorably continues to reduce even further the likelihood of becoming pregnant in your 40s, is all in the arithmetic.
Girls are born with all the eggs they will ever have. At birth, they number just over a million. By puberty, between 300,000 and 500,000 eggs remain in the ovaries. However, from this very prolific starting point, only around 300 eggs will be ever fully mature and be released during ovulation. So naturally as you age, the number of remaining eggs declines. And as menopause approaches, the ovaries become less responsive to the hormones responsible for triggering ovulation. This is why, although we may all have heard anecdotes about a friend of a friend who was surprised to be pregnant at 45, the odds are against this happening.
How Can You Prepare For A New Baby After 40
To prepare to have a child, itâs important to create a reproductive life plan. With this, you and your doctor can prepare for you to have children at your desired age.
If you want to get pregnant now, make sure youâre as healthy as possible. Stop alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco use. Talk to your doctor about prenatal vitamins with folic acid.
Visit your doctor to chat about your diet and lifestyle, sexually transmitted infection screening, a healthy prepregnancy weight, and any other concerns before you get pregnant. Everyone should make an appointment before they try to get pregnant, but this is especially crucial if youâre 40 and older.
If you donât want to get pregnant now but may want to have a baby at an older age, talk to your doctor about:
In vitro fertilization . With this method, experts combine a sperm and egg in a laboratory to grow an embryo. Your doctor can then freeze the embryo for later use.
Oocyte cryopreservation. This is when your doctor freezes your eggs. Theyâll take some of your eggs from your ovaries and freeze them so you can use them later in IVF.
You can still get pregnant naturally at 40, but these methods may heighten your chances of having a baby at a later age.
Show Sources
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists: âHaving a Baby After Age 35: How Aging Affects Fertility and Pregnancy,â âFemale Age-Related Fertility Decline.â
CDC: âBirths: Final Data for 2020.â
Cedars Sinai: âGestational Hypertension.â
What Are My Chances Of Pregnancy After 40
It’s possible, but almost half of women over 40 experience fertility issues, according to the CDC. Women over 40 have about a 5 percent chance of getting pregnant in any single ovulation cycle.
At 40, your chances of getting pregnant within a year are about 40 to 50 percent. To compare, a woman in her mid-30s has about a 75 percent chance. And by age 43, a woman’s chance of getting pregnant within a year drops significantly to only 1 or 2 percent.
Why the steep drop-off? It’s all about the eggs. When you reach puberty, your eggs number between 300,000 and 500,000, and after that you lose about 13,000 of them a year. Over the years, this steady drop in egg supply leaves you with about 25,000 eggs by age 37 the age that also coincides with a precipitous drop in fertility. By age 43, your egg supply is near its end. Your risk of pregnancy complications, such as high blood pressure and gestational diabetes, increases after 35 as well, and continues to rise into your 40s.
Miscarriage rates begin to skyrocket in your 40s as well. At 40, the average chance of a miscarriage is about 40 percent, and that rises to around 80 percent by age 45. The same underlying mechanism that causes miscarriage also increases the risk of Down syndrome: At 40, your chance of conceiving a child with Down syndrome is one in 100 at 45, it’s one in 30.
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How Long Does It Usually Take To Get Pregnant
It’s impossible to say how long it takes to get pregnant because it’s different for each woman.
Many factors can affect a couple’s chances of conceiving, such as:
- your reproductive health
- how often you have sex
Some women become pregnant quickly, while others take longer. This may be upsetting, but it’s normal.
Is It Possible To Get Pregnant Naturally At 40
YES! While fertility does decline naturally as we age, starting around age 30, it is possible to become pregnant without intervention after age 40.
However, women have a much lower chance of conceiving naturally after 40 than earlier in their reproductive years. Fertility specialists quote approximately a 5% chance per menstrual cycle of getting pregnant naturally after age 40 vs. a 25% chance per cycle for women in their 20s, which is when fertility typically peaks.
The reason for the decline in successful pregnancies after 40 is multifactorial. The rate of miscarriage is about 40% after the age of 40. This is due to many reasons, but the biggest is a higher chance of genetic abnormalities in each egg. Womens ovarian reserve also decreases over time, meaning they have fewer eggs by age 40.
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What Are The Chances Of Getting Pregnant Over 40
However, its also about the quality of the eggs not just the number of eggs. A woman is born with a certain number of eggs and the best quality eggs are used for ovulation each month. This means that the quantity and the quality decline as a woman grows older. In your 40s, chromosomal abnormalities are more common in the poorer quality eggs that your ovaries release and this means that the chance of your baby having birth defects and also the chance of miscarriage is greater. A woman of 45 years old has a 1/35 chance of a baby with Downs Syndrome . The risk of miscarriage is around 40% to 50% in a 40 year old woman (as opposed to 15% to 20% in a woman under 30 years old. And these are all connected with poor quality eggs.
What If I Cant Get Pregnant Naturally Will Ivf Help
If you are struggling with age or non-age-related infertility , a fertility doctor can help.
The first line of treatment for mild infertility is Intrauterine Insemination, or IUI, which is when a doctor inserts sperm into a womans uterus at the time of ovulation in hopes of achieving pregnancy. This can often be combined with medications to increase the number of eggs released at the time of ovulation.
For more advanced cases, and even some mild cases that want to see success quickly, IVF is the treatment option to pursue, as its got the highest success rates by far. IVF dramatically improves live birth rates for infertile couples and gives them a chance at family-building.
It is just as shocking as it is for a woman who got pregnant quickly with her first child to discover just a few years later that she has a low ovarian reserve and may not conceive again, either naturally or with IVF. Its also shocking when that same woman, several more years later, conceives naturally and gives birth to a healthy baby. While these types of surprise success stories are not as common as one would like, they certainly happen. Ask any fertility doctor.
Jeffrey T. Thorne
REPRODUCTIVE ENDOCRINOLOGIST
Dr. Thornes professional expertise covers the full range of reproductive endocrinology and infertility care, including comprehensive diagnostic evaluation, In Vitro Fertilization and Intrauterine Insemination , third party reproduction, and egg freezing.
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The Truth About Pregnancy Over 40
More than 100,000 Americans give birth in their 40s each year, but what does that mean for the health of their pregnancies and their babies?
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This story was originally published on Nov. 12, 2019 in NYT Parenting.
At some point in elementary school, I understood something about my mother: She was older than the other moms. Every now and then, I would write her age on a form or talk about the year she was born, and a classmate would loudly exhale at the response. Man, she would say, thats ANCIENT.
Indeed. My mother was a whopping 29 when she got pregnant, and 30 when she gave birth to me.
This situation came to mind earlier this year, when my father-in-law expressed unprompted concern about the possibility of my husband and me having a second child at my advanced age of 40. We were courting medical disaster, he said, for myself and for the baby.
My first response was fury O.K., boomer but did he have a point? In 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that while the birthrates for women under 40 had been declining for years, those for women in their early 40s were increasing by 3 percent every year since 1982. The average age of first-time mothers in the United States is now 26 up from 23 in 1994. And in Manhattan, near where I live, its 32.
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How To Get Pregnant Over : Natural Supplements That Can Help
Because its more common for women to experience infertility from age 37 onwards, and because with every year that passes your chances are lower, its important you seek help as soon as possible if you experience trouble conceiving.
If you are trying for a baby in your late 30s you will not be alone it has become more common for women to be older mothers than 20 years ago. And with the range of fertility treatments available today, there is help available if you need it. There are also natural supplements on the market which can boost your fertility by providing you with the essential nutrients which are lacking in todays culture of fast, processed food.
However it is vital that you take a female fertility supplement which is scientifically proven to help and that can be easily absorbed and processed by the body. Some fertility supplements can even harm your fertility as they contain strong antioxidants which can upset your metabolic balance, damaging the quality of the eggs and sperm. Impryl stands out from the rest as it encourages your body to maintain its natural metabolic balance and so ensures the very best chance of pregnancy, whatever your age.
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Help With Becoming Pregnant In Your 40s: Ivf
In Vitro Fertilisation is the most well-known assisted reproduction technique. It is a very well-established procedure in which embryos are created by fertilising the egg with the sperm in a laboratory. The resulting embryos are then transferred to the womans uterus. There are two ways of conducting this procedure. The fertilisation process may be carried out with conventional IVF in which the sperm and egg are mingled together in a culture plate, or else via ICSI, which consists of inserting a live spermatozoon into the oocyte by puncturing it with the aid of a pipette.
There is also the option of IVF plus PGS which has the advantages of reducing the chance of miscarriage and increasing the success rate per embryo transfer.
Chances Of Getting Pregnant At 42
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When Should I Decide To Seek Fertility Treatment
If you are a woman over the age of 35, you could experience a decrease in your fertility as it declines as you age. If you are in this age bracket, or more, and you have been trying to conceive naturally without success for six months, it is time to see a doctor. Six months may seem like a short time, but the sooner you seek help, the higher the chances of success. Making the call for a consultation is not easy and we do understand that the first step can seem a little daunting. However, at IVI were here to help and to let you know that youre not alone. Our dedicated team of specialists is ready to answer any questions and make sure that your experience of IVI lives up to your expectations. You can get an idea of what to expect by having a look at our step-by-step guide to the IVF process.
How To Get Pregnant At 40
To give yourself the best chance for a normal pregnancy and a healthy baby, consider taking a few important steps before trying to conceive. Read these tips to help you prepare for pregnancy.
If you’re in your early 40s, your healthcare provider will likely refer you to a fertility specialist if you don’t get pregnant after having frequent unprotected sex for up to six months. Others may advise that you see a reproductive specialist right away especially if there are specific reasons you may have trouble getting pregnant, such as irregular or missed periods, ovulation difficulties, or problems with your partner’s sperm.
Most specialists start by doing tests to determine if there’s a problem with the way your ovaries function. Then they’ll check for problems with your fallopian tubes or your partner’s sperm. If no such problems are found, then it’s likely your infertility is from age and declining egg quality. Your provider will advise you about your options depending on your individual circumstances.
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Is There Help If I Havent Gotten Pregnant After 40
YES! Reproductive endocrinologists specialize in assisting women with fertility issues. After age 40, we recommend having a consultation with a specialist if you havent become pregnant within 6 months of trying. There are many options for how to proceed depending on a womans age and health history, her partners age and health history, etc. You can go over these options together and figure out the best plan for you and your partner. We wish you the best of luck!
Getting Pregnant At 42 Naturally
- Getting Pregnant At 42 Naturally
Wanting to get pregnant at 42 is not uncommon. Most women in their reproductive years will begin to look for ways to conceive. These days it seems that all the tips and tricks that worked years ago are no longer as effective as they once were. It is becoming more common for older women to have problems getting pregnant than it is for younger women. If you have had trouble getting pregnant in the past, then you should consider trying to conceive after your 42nd week of trying. Assostefano Bambini E Marfan.
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How Can I Get Pregnant Naturally After 35 And Over 40
If youre trying to get pregnant after you turn 35, or older, you can maximise your chances of conception by knowing when you ovulate, which is when your ovaries release an egg. One reason why many couples struggle to get pregnant is that 1 in 2 couples may be trying to conceive at the wrong time of the month4. There are only a few days each menstrual cycle when you can get pregnant and your fertile days can vary between cycles. If you know when your fertile days are, it can help you . Ovulation tests detect the surge of a hormone called luteinising hormone which occurs 24 to 36 hours before ovulation and identify your 2 most fertile days. Since can survive for up to 5 days, your fertility window is actually around 6 days, so you may want to invest in a test that also detects a rise in estrogen. This rise in estrogen happens in the days leading up to your LH surge, so identifying these days gives you a wider fertility window giving you more opportunities to get pregnant.
Getting Pregnant In Your 20s
Many sources, including the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, still believe that a womans best years to have a baby are her 20s. A healthy couple under 30 has approximately a 95% chance of getting pregnant after a year of having unprotected sex. Unless you have a health condition impacting fertility, such as endometriosis or polycystic ovarian syndrome , you can reasonably expect to get pregnant in your 20s with relative ease. Your risks of miscarriage, pregnancy complications, and genetic problems with your baby are also lowest in your 20s, given that you are overall healthy.
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What You Need To Know About Fertility Treatments: After Age 40
For women over the age of 40 looking to get pregnant, it is important to start working with a fertility specialist sooner than later. The treatment options available become more limited as we age, so finding the right doctor to help with conception can be a crucial step in your fertility plan. Dr. Kirtly Jones speaks with fertility expert Dr. Erica Johnstone about helping women over 40 become pregnant.
Dr. Jones: So you’ve just done everything you can to get ready to start a family, and now you can hear your biological clock ticking loudly. When should you get help?
You’re a 43-year-old woman, and you’ve heard your baby biological clock ticking. You want to have a baby, and you stopped your birth control, and it didn’t just happen. When should you get help?
Well, it depends. Of course, it depends on a lot of things, your health history, and the male part, but actually, we start with your age. And when it comes to this age, sooner is better than later.
We’re going to do this in three parts. So if this isn’t your age or the age of the person you’re worried about, check out our other podcasts because we have done this in three different age groups.
Dr. Jones: Right. They might need a little tune-up.
Dr. Johnstone: Exactly.
Dr. Jones: Sooner than later. So who should you try and see, and what will they do?
Dr. Jones: Things like sperm count? Or what kind of testing do you think?
Dr. Jones: Let’s say you’re 48. Are there options you should be thinking about from the beginning?
