Taking fertility supplements, eating a healthy diet, incorporating yoga into your daily routine, and managing your stress levels will improve all of the bodily processes that support fertility and quality egg development. Don't fret if you're 40 and are just starting to think about having children!
Unlike men, who continue to make new sperm every day, women are born with their entire life's supply of eggs. Over time, these eggs tend to deteriorate. Women in their 40s may still release an egg every month, but the quality of the egg may not be adequate enough to achieve a successful pregnancy.
The rate of chromosomal abnormalities in eggs (and therefore also in embryos) increases significantly with advancing female age. At age 30 about 30% of eggs are chromosomally abnormal. By age 40 about 60% are abnormal and by 44 years old 90% are abnormal.
At 40, approximately 40% of eggs will be genetically normal. By the age of 44, as little as 10-20% may be normal.
IVF can however help improve chances of successfully conceiving a healthy baby, even after 40 years. the procedures of egg retrieval and screening of embryos can help improve pregnancy outcomes.
By age 40, a woman's chance is less than 5% per cycle, so fewer than 5 out of every 100 women are expected to be successful each month. Women do not remain fertile until menopause. The average age for menopause is 51, but most women become unable to have a successful pregnancy sometime in their mid-40s.
Women lose 90 per cent of the eggs in their ovaries before the age of 30, new research has shown. The mathematical model shows that the average woman has only 12 per cent of her eggs left by the age of 30 and only three per cent by the age of 40.
Fertility does decline after the age of 40. Women who are around 40 who are not ready to have children yet may choose egg freezing. However, the chances that the same woman can carry the pregnancy a few years later decrease as the woman gets older.
Pregnancy in Your 40s
If you get pregnant after 35 years old, experts call this an “advanced maternal age” pregnancy. But it's still possible to get pregnant and deliver a healthy baby in your 40s. Childbirth at older ages has become more common too. Since the 1990s, birth rates in people aged 40-44 have gone up.
How many eggs does a woman have at 40? By the time a woman reaches 40, she'll be down to about 18,000 (3% of her pre-birth egg supply). Although the chances of conception are lower, this does not mean it is impossible to conceive at this age.
Unfortunately, IVF success at 40 with own eggs is limited – it is estimated at lower than 10%.
Once an egg divides with abnormal DNA, it can't be fixed medically or “healed.” In other words, once an egg becomes abnormal, it can't become normal again. The decline in egg quality is driven solely by age, with a few exceptions.
How long does it take to improve egg quality? Eggs take 3 – 4 months to mature, but even a month of supplements, acupuncture, diet, and lifestyle can improve egg quality, especially when you are preparing for an IVF cycle. Of course, the more time you have, the more your eggs will benefit.
CoQ10 supplementation has been shown to improve egg quality, sperm quality, and pregnancy rates. Sperm and eggs both take about 90 days to develop. For best results, fertility specialists recommend taking CoQ10 and other fertility supplements for 90+ days if possible.
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.
Very few or practically no eggs remain by the time you reach ages 45 to 55, or menopause.
Women have “perfect” eggs below the age 30, but then egg quality starts to decline, which explains declining fertility. Over the age of 45, almost all the eggs which fertilise will create chromosomally abnormal embryos and therefore the chance of healthy, ongoing pregnancy is close to zero.
Yes, you can, but you may find it takes a bit longer to get pregnant than a woman in her 20s. Every woman is born with a set number of eggs in her ovaries, and you release an egg every menstrual cycle. If you don't conceive during that cycle the egg is lost and it's not replaced.
Most women over 40 have healthy pregnancies and babies. However, it can sometimes take longer to get pregnant and some people experience complications.
Older women are more likely to miscarry or have a stillbirth. They have a greater chance of developing gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, and of delivering a baby who is very small. Then there can be problems with labor, resulting in a higher chance of cesarean birth.
In addition to its well-established role in neural tube defect prevention, research suggests folate plays an important role in promoting egg quality, maturation and implantation.