Woman’s age and conception: success rates
We have often talked about the relationship between a woman’s age and fertility .
Over the years, the ovarian reserve decreases but not only. The percentages of damaged or non-optimal egg cells increase which can lead more frequently to spontaneous abortions.
Fertility begins to decline in your twenties and continues into your thirties.
Remember also that in the years when fertility is at its peak, pregnancy is not always easy to achieve.
Statistics say that it takes 13 months for 100% fertile 25-year-old women to get pregnant.
For this reason, doctors recommend doing fertility checks after at least one year of targeted intercourse if the woman is under the age of 36.
Fertility problems can be present at any age but it is towards the age of 40 that a woman’s fertility undergoes a sharp decline.
You have a good chance of getting pregnant even at the age of 38-39, but it is with the age of 40 that things change radically.
From the age of 40, fertility further halves every two years, as you can see from the following graph taken from Management of the Infertile Woman by Helen A. Carcio and The Fertility Sourcebook by M. Sara Rosenthal
This is what happens when trying to conceive naturally.
What are the success rates when dealing with assisted reproduction treatment?
Assisted fertilization increases the chances of pregnancy in couples experiencing infertility problems but is far from guaranteeing success.
If the woman is 32 years of age or younger she has a good chance of carrying the pregnancy to term with just one IVF cycle.
Ten years later things change dramatically with only a 14% chance of carrying the pregnancy to term with just one treatment.
Mother’s age |
Births after a single IVF treatment |
| Less than 30 years old | 58% |
| 30 | 59% |
| 31 | 53% |
| 32 | 52% |
| 33 | 46% |
| 34 | 51% |
| 35 | 46% |
| 36 | 43% |
| 37 | 43% |
| 38 | 39% |
| 39 | 32% |
| 40 | 28% |
| 41 | 26% |
| 42 | 14% |
| 43 | 13% |
| 44 | 6% |
| 45 and above | 1% |
Obviously there are exceptions on which, however, it is not the case to rely if you are deciding to have a child.
All this to tell you that if you experience a fertility problem, do not waste time, because even if it is a year or two of waiting and second thoughts can greatly change the outcomes of an assisted reproduction treatment.
Kathryn Barlow is an OB/GYN doctor, which is the medical specialty that deals with the care of women's reproductive health, including pregnancy and childbirth.
Obstetricians provide care to women during pregnancy, labor, and delivery, while gynecologists focus on the health of the female reproductive system, including the ovaries, uterus, vagina, and breasts. OB/GYN doctors are trained to provide medical and surgical care for a wide range of conditions related to women's reproductive health.