Age and Fertility

Not realizing the connection between age and fertility, many women plan to delay pregnancy until their 30s or even early 40s.

 

Several recent surveys of child-bearing age women confirm what fertility specialist physicians have known for a long time; women (and men) assume it will be easy to get pregnant when they’re ready. (Scroll down to watch video)

With 1 in 5 couples challenged by infertility, nothing could be further from the truth. “Age is the dominating factor when it comes to fertility,” explains Isaac Glatstein, MD, Associate Medical Director at the Reproductive Science Center of New England (RSC). Ovarian reserve, the number and quality of eggs a woman has available when she tries to conceive, is the major factor linking age and infertility. “By age 35, about 11% of women will have an infertility issue, that increases to 33% between age 35 and 40,” he states.

A Fertility IQ Survey of over 1,000 women between the ages of 25 and 35, conducted by EMD Serono in 2011, found that:

• 7 out of 10 women plan to have children at some point
• Most plan to delay pregnancy until their 30s
• 30% have no concern about trying to conceive and believe they will have an average or easier time becoming pregnant compared to most women
• 78% have never discussed age as an infertility factor with their Ob/Gyn
   

A 2010 survey of over 7,000 women conducted by Attain Fertility Centers, of which RSC New England is a member, yielded similar results. “Nearly one third of the couples who come to us for help getting pregnant, have waited too long,” says Dr. Glatstein. “Awareness is needed about this medical condition that is often age related."
 

Age can impact fertility due to a number of factors.

Dr Isaac Glatstein, Associate Medical Director at the Reproductive Science Center of New England, is a fertility doctor in Massachusetts. A Board Certified Reproductive Endocrinologist, he provides fertility screening and infertility treatment at RSC New England fertility clinics in Braintree and Lexington, Massachusetts.

 

Watch How to Make a Baby, a two episode online talk show following the stories of couples who were surprised by infertility and how they met the challenges to have the babies they always dreamed about.