Fertility dropping after 35 years old?

[TheP0]

How true is it or can it be classed as scaremongering the women?
And what matters more, age or health?
This is a serious question

No it's not bloody scaremongering it's a claim backed up by lots and lots of data!

Fertility declines as you age. It does not drop off a cliff.

Well researched unbiased facts:
www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-24128176

Urgh, this isn't helping 35yo me who is having a minor panic about taking ages to fall pregnant! What are the stats about falling pregnant for 35+?

botbird give that article and the research behind it a read.

I’m the same age as you, I’m not panicking yet.

It's true. But in your mid to late 30s it's less about the number of eggs and more about egg quality, whereas once your 40+, the issue is both quality and quantity. That being said, I've had kids at 38 and 42.
It is important to know that from 38 onwards, there really is an increased risk of miscarriage. Our eggs are old by then. It's a fact that we can't deny. So things can go wrong. It doesn't mean they will go wrong. And for the most part, they don't go wrong. I know many, many, many women who have had babies at 37+ years. It's pretty much the norm now.
Age is a factor. Good health is everything. But good health doesn't protect us from the risk of having a miscarriage or defective foetuses. Perfectly healthy women who do everything right and have had a history of healthy babies can and do have stillbirths or babies with chromosomal abnormalities and developmental disorders. This is entirely unrelated to maternal health and almost exclusively has to do with age/egg quality or in younger mothers in can be just bad luck. Paternal age plays a larger role in ASD. There is a correlation between older fathers/older parents and ASD. Paternal age has little to do with chromosomal abnormalities and is pretty much down to our older eggs or else (in the case of younger mothers) something going massively amiss at the moment of conception. Sometimes, things just go wrong for no decent reason. It really is that simple.

I speak from personal experience, so forgive me if my report isn't a sparkling one. But it's not a cloudy one either. For the most part, having babies over 35 goes perfectly well for nearly everyone. It did for me. But between ages 38-42, I had 3 losses.

But between ages 38-42, I had 3 losses
Let me rephrase:
In between the births of DD when I was 38 and DS when I was 42, I had 3 losses.

The data is very clear. We are designed to reproduce much younger. But I got pregnant very fast both times post 39.. blessed with fertile genes.
Stress reduces the odds just as much. We were very undecided about any baby then baby2 .... probably helped lol

Oh goodness, it's late. I'm making little sense. Let me also rephrase: It didn't go perfectly for me in that I had my difficulties but then it DID go perfectly in that I ended up with 2 kids and older age. Anyway, I'll stop.
Seriously, at 35, don't despair in the least, is what I really want to say.

It's not scaremongering, it's reality.

I had 3 dc at 29, 31, 32.

I had no idea (no one told me!) that my family had a history of early menopause. By 36 I was having a period every 3 months, by 42 I hadn't had a period for a year. I'm now 48 and my periods have stopped (it's been 30 months) so I reckon it's over.

If I'd decided to put off trying, even at 35 might have been too late. I'm very lucky (it was my aunt, not my dm, who told me about this!!)

So I'm not typical, but you just never know, do you? It could be tomorrow you ovulate for the last time if it's a family thing.

Talk to your family, hope for the best, plan for the worst.

There are a number of different ways to look at it but they all add up to things becoming harder and harder as you age.

Age is the biggest factor for most women.

Yes read the article.. if you don't need ivf then getting pregnant in late 30s isn't really much more difficult than at beginning of decade. Not sure when in 40s it really starts to go.

However i am with Vangard on those old eggs. Between 37 and 41 I got pregnant v easily but had 5 pregnancies - 2 live births, 3 miscarriages.. all earlyish 6 to 8 weeks.. still grim.

I meant to add. For some women the chances are much lower.

I’m 34 with anovulatory ovarian insufficiency. My only option is IVF as quickly as possible and it’s no guarantee at all.

A lot of the data on older women’s fertility is based on old data and women who may have had issues anyway. It gets harder as you get older but most women still manage fine.

Don't panic many times of us get pregnant over 35. I had baby at 35 ( one month before I turned 36)

A miscarriage at 10 weeks at 38

Now due a baby shortly, at 39.

Your health and body can be better than a 20 year olds, but yes there are only so many eggs. Miscarriage is common any age sadly.

I did feel the tick at 30 and panic a bit.

With DD fell pregnant in first month not really trying at 26 years old no issues at all.

DS who is now 4 months old, trying for 2 years with 2 miscarriages in between at 37/38 years old. Couldn't get any help with fertility either as already had DD 11 years earlier and i was over 35. Luckily my baby boy stuck and I count my blessings everyday.

The fertility data applies to white women. Fertility for other races doesn’t tend to see the same reductions until after 40.