In recent years, the number of women who do not want to get pregnant before the age of 40 has increased. Today, people are rarely surprised by the fact of the first pregnancy after forty.
Modern women postpone motherhood for various reasons, and most often this is a career that they want to have time to build and thereby realize themselves. Also, one may find social reasons among all the rest, like having no dwelling or not being married. But is it so easy to get pregnant after 40? Below are just the facts!
Pregnancy at 40: risks and opportunities
Every woman who plans to give birth no earlier than 40 years old must learn several important facts:
- the chances of getting pregnant after 40 years are sharply reduced, this is due to the fact that the quality and number of eggs decrease sharply;
- the effectiveness of IVF also decreases, so donor eggs may be required;
- if pregnancy occurs after 40 years, difficulties may arise with bearing a child, which means that the risk of miscarriage is very increased.
Of course, natural pregnancy after 40 is possible, but every year the chances of conceiving a child decrease. And yet, modern reproductive specialists advise women to become pregnant from 23 to 35 years old. It is during this period that the risk of fetal pathologies can be avoided and one may successfully become pregnant.
In the West, ‘delayed motherhood’ has long been the norm. Many women at a young age decide to freeze healthy eggs in order to be able to get pregnant at an age when it is convenient for them and when they are ready for motherhood morally and financially.
Conception after 40 years and ovarian reserve
The ovarian reserve is a woman’s oocyte supply. It is laid in the girl while still in the womb. From birth, a girl may have about 2 million immature oocytes, in adolescence there are only 300 thousand of them, and after 40 years, the ovarian reserve is greatly reduced.
Even if a woman after 40 years old looks great, leads a healthy lifestyle, and has a regular menstrual cycle, it does not guarantee that pregnancy will come immediately or will come at all. All this is associated with deterioration in the quality of her eggs. It is the sharp reduction in the ovarian reserve that prevents the natural conception of the child.
It is also important to understand that with age, we may develop chronic diseases and various diseases that negatively affect the conception and bearing of a child.
Remember that pregnancy at 40+ is a serious challenge for the female body. It is very important that a woman who has decided to become pregnant at a later age receives a consultation with a reproductive specialist in time and checks her health by undergoing the necessary medical examination. Pregnancy screening should not be neglected. Highly qualified medical support will help conceive and give birth to a healthy child.