The fast paced life in this age of technology is leading women to postponing their choice of becoming a mother. It may be due to factors such as seeking better career avenues, health problems, economic, and societal issues etc. The trend for later motherhood is continuing at a pace that was previously observed in developed countries is now seen in other countries as well

Reports suggest that a number of factors for later motherhood include-

  • Women’s increased participation in higher education and workforce

Occupation related reasons

  • Growing costs of child bearing and housing
  • Relationship circumstances such as divorce, breakup etc

The factors mentioned above are causing women for choosing to have their first child in the mid-30s or after 40s is a challenge for women that may have no other impediment for conception. It is possible to get pregnant at 45 though conceiving naturally is unlikely.

A woman’s prime fertility time is between her teens and her 20s and once she reaches mid 30s her ability to get pregnant starts to decline. The drop in the capacity for fertility or ovarian reserve suggests that not only do the ovaries have fewer eggs to give, but the quality of the eggs they have is poor.

Fertility after age 40 – IVF for women in 40s and above

In such cases, the inability to produce healthy, viable eggs results in lower pregnancy rates as well as higher chances of miscarriage in women over the age of 35 or 40. Medical science has provided options for women who are having trouble getting pregnant and one such option is In-vitro-fertility or IVF treatment.

With the chances of falling pregnant over 40 years of age  is <5% many couples are coming forward to increase their chances of having a baby through IVF treatment. When couples try to have a baby naturally then the fertility issue that reduces the chances for success is the quality and quantity of the eggs.

With IVF treatment, you get multiple embryos so that embryologists can choose the best one from a group to transfer back into the uterus resulting in pregnancy. Becoming a mother after forty is possible but the chances are much higher if donor eggs are used during IVF.

As per available statistics, the success rate of IVF on women at 30 years old is 60 to 70% that goes on reduce drastically% for women at the age of 45. The success of IVF treatment also depends upon the quality of the donor eggs. Most fertility clinics set an age limit often between 42 and 45 years old for a woman to use her own eggs.

With many current and emerging options available for helping women to achieve pregnancy at advanced age including IVF protocols that maximize ovarian response, egg freezing and preimplantation genetic testing the doors are still open for a woman to achieve pregnancy or motherhood through IVF treatment after 40. Surrogacy with self or donor gametes is also a wonderful treatment option to have a baby at a later age.