Why Does Your Fertility Decline With Age?

For many women, having a child during their most fertile years (between ages 20 and 24) isn’t the ideal time to become a mother. Unfortunately, many women discover that by the time they are ready to have a baby, their fertility is on the decline. Whereas most couples will conceive a child within the first year that they cease using contraceptives and are having sex three or more times a week, women over the age of 35 will have a much more difficult time conceiving a child without the help of a fertility doctor.

As a woman, you are born with all of the eggs you will have in your lifetime. That means as you age, the number of eggs you have in reserve diminishes, and their quality begins to decrease as well. The viability of your eggs begins to diminish after you turn 30 and begins to rapidly diminish after the age of 35. Your periods may become more irregular as you age, too, meaning your ovulation is less predictable, while some women begin menopause early, stopping their cycle altogether. By age 40, only 2 out of 5 women who wish to become pregnant will be able to conceive a child through natural methods. That’s why more women over the age of 35 are turning to alternative methods to conceive a child, including purchasing human eggs for their in vitro fertilization treatments as their own eggs are no longer viable.

Of course, in vitro isn’t the only option for women who are seeking to experience the joy of carrying a child. Embryo adoption is one of the IVF alternatives available to couple who are considering purchasing donated human eggs. These embryos come from couples who have undergone their own IVF treatments, and have completed their family building and are donating their remaining embryos to a family who would love to give these embryos the chance at life. If you are a woman over 30 who is finding is difficult to conceive a child and would like to learn more about embryo adoption, visit www.embryoadoption.org.

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