Infertility Concerns for Women Over 40

As any woman knows, having a child over the age of forty can be a tricky issue but certainly not impossible. The National Center for Health Statistics shows that the number of women over the age of 40 who are giving birth has actually doubled in recent decades. This can be attributed to fertility clinics offering assisted reproductive technologies which include donor eggs and In Vitro Fertilization. A more open and equal society has also contributed to the fact the women are more in control of their lives and reproductive choices.

The number of women from ages 40 to 44 who do not have children is at twenty percent. This number of women who have children has doubled from only thirty years ago. Many factors contribute to this change in demographic, the largest of which is women who have increasing career goals. Divorce, falling in love later in life, and simply waiting until later in life to become a mother can be related to the increase in older mothers.

Women who make the decision to wait to get pregnant until they are over 40 should consider some of the important factors. One, quitting smoking and finding a healthy weight will reduce fertility concerns, and so will avoiding sexually transmitted diseases.Even with a healthy diet focused on nutrition and fertility, exercise, and practicing safe sex, women over forty still face a drastically lower chance of conception and fertility problems. A woman at the age of thirty has, in any given month, has a 20 percent chance of conception. A woman at the age of forty in a given month only has a five percent chance of conception.

Miscarriage and Down’s syndrome is also a concern for women over forty. Forty four year old vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin recently gave birth to a child with Down’s syndrome. Babies can be born small or have underdeveloped lungs. Being at optimal health is only one of many concerns: there are simply more challenges to overcome when attempting to conceive over forty. Not every woman will be able to conceive without some type of assistance.

Despite the concern with getting pregnant at the age of forty and above, trying meditation and relaxation techniques, reducing stress, and seeing a doctor regularly has helped many with fertility problems. Becoming aware of the facts of fertility over the age of 40 will help you make better reproductive decisions.

Fertility Centers of Illinois (FCI) offers some of the most sophisticated reproductive technology services available. They are also one of a handful of referral centers for advanced genetic and fertility treatments.