Age and Fertility

With so much information in the popular media about women in their 40’s and sometimes even in their 50’s conceiving and having children, we get many questions from patients about IVF for women in these age ranges.

Your reproductive system ages faster than you may realize. A woman’s fertility potential declines with age, mostly due to the decline in numbers of eggs in her ovaries and their quality. This is why women in their late 30s and 40s have a decreased ability to become pregnant and an increased rate of miscarriage. Approximately one-third of couples in which the female partner is age 35 or older will have some problems with fertility.

So, how are these women getting pregnant in their 40s and 50s? Some are very lucky. Between the ages of 40 and 42, with decent ovarian reserve (there are many ways of testing for this from FSH levels to clomid challenge test to antral follicle count) there is still a resonable chance of pregnancy with in vitro fertilization and/or with ovulation induction and insemination. However, after the age of 42, the chance of pregnancy with your own eggs, regardless of the method of treatment, drops to the lower single digits (between 1 and 6%) per cycle attempt.

Many women over the age of 42 who are doing IVF are doing it with donor eggs (typically from a woman in her 20’s). Using donor eggs increases the chance of pregnancy to above 50% and decreases the miscarriage risk. Women over 40 who are pursuing this option need to be in good basic health and have a physical exam and basic blood work before becoming pregnant.

So, what if you are 45 and want to have a baby? It is possible, it just may not be possible at this time using your own eggs.