Your age and Fertility

A lot of hype surrounds the perfect age to have children, with some women having babies in their teens and some leaving it until their forties before trying to conceive.

It’s true that the older you are the less likely you are to fall pregnant, but some women go on to have healthy pregnancies and babies well into their forties.

Whatever age you decide to have children here are the fertility facts: statistics show that 90 percent of women in their twenties will become pregnant within a year of trying and that the rest still have a good chance of becoming pregnant within another year or so. Women in their thirties have a much lower chance of conceiving after a year of trying. Women are most fertile at 20-24 years; but by the time they’re 35, they’re half as fertile as they were at 25. Although it is quite common for men in their forties, fifties and sixties to successfully father children, age does decrease a man’s fertility as well. For older men it can take years for their partners to fall pregnant as opposed to a man in his twenties, so holding off to get pregnant if one or both of you are over 35 will dramatically lower your chances. It’s also worth remembering that the incidence of chromosomal abnormalities increases with age.

Why does a fertility decrease as we get older?

The older you are the older your eggs are, and at roughly 35 your ovarian reserve begins to decline leaving you with fewer viable eggs left. You may also have a more irregular menstrual cycle – shorter cycles that can make predicting ovulation difficult. The lining of your uterus (endometrium) also changes as you get older, becoming thinner and less able to support implantation of a fertilized egg. Another factor is that your vaginal discharge changes as you get older, becoming thicker and more hostile to sperm.

How can I find out my ovarian reserve?

In the past it was very difficult for women to find out what their ovarian reserve was until menopause started. Now you can buy kits that measure hormones in your blood and assess your ovarian reserve. If you decide to go down this route, speak to your physician or a fertility expert about it first so they can help you decide what to do if your test results aren’t good.

If you’d like to talk to other women about these issues, why not check out our chat forum, where you can post messages, or our question pages, where you can find answers.

The information in this feature is intended for educational purposes only. If you have any concerns about your health, the health of your child or the health of someone you know, please consult with a doctor or other healthcare professional.

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Last Modified: 02/05/2007

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