Is 43 too late ...

[LAU81]

After meeting a slightly younger man 4 years ago and him expressing he would like a child with me , we have both decided that we shall leave things in the hands of nature ... Currently 43 . I'm just wondering if anyone else has fallen pregnant naturally in their 40s ?
I don't have any children but I have been pregnant in my 30s but chose to not continue the pregnancy as my relationship wasn't right.

I had my youngest son aged 40 and my youngest daughter at 43, both conceived naturally.

Quick Google of VERY rough stats suggests that your chance of conceiving on any given cycle is 5%, and your chance of miscarriage is around 50%, so effectively you have a 2.5% chance of a successful pregnancy per cycle.

A younger woman comparatively is something like 25% and 20%, so effectively 20% chance of successful pregnancy on any given cycle.

So in summary, chance is much much lower but definitely still there! You can maximise chances by you and DP being healthy weight, exercising and eating well, and not drinking to excess. Some studies show the woman shouldn't drink at all for maximum chances.

Argh that sounded very cold-hearted! I meant it to be positive! I do know women in real life who have conceived in their early forties.
PS if you want properly accurate stats do some more serious googling than I did 😆

Sure it can happen. I was 41 with my first and 44 with my second. My friend had her first at 30 and then could not conceive any more (PCOS) and stopped trying in her late 30s.. She found out just before her 50th birthday that she was four months pregnant. Healthy pregnancy, completely natural (though obviously unplanned) However, many, many women find it is not easy, or that whilst getting pregnant is easy, they miscarry. If you can just be relaxed about it, really understand your cycle and when you can get pregnant you might be lucky.

41 year old here, no children but 2 miscarriages in the past 6 months. I’m now with a miscarriage clinic who have recommended high dose coq10 600mg, Omega 3, Vitamin D3 and folic acid. I’ve no idea how effective this ‘recipe’ is but if it reduces the chances of miscarriage I’ll give it a go.
I had all the blood tests last year, which may well be worth a go to know what your chances are. An online company called hertility will do this if you’re interested.

Good luck.

I'm currently 41 and nearly 32 weeks pregnant I'm to be induced at 38🙂

Ah thank you everyone 😊 We are both really fit and healthy ( gym , running , outdoors people , good eating ) and don't smoke . We enjoy the odd glass of alcohol on a weekend but nothing ridiculous.
Seems there may still be a chance then :)

Had dd month before 43rd birthday. Conceived 2nd cycle.
Aunt had her last dd at 42 too.(1st at 39 2nd at 40).
Cousin ds at 45 (IVF).

Hello,

I met my (younger) husband at 38, started trying for a baby at 39, one miscarriage at 40, had a baby at 41, another miscarriage at 42 and now 13 weeks pregnant with my second at 43. I also have a fairly healthy lifestyle so don’t know if that has helped, but obviously had some miscarriages in there as well. So yes it’s definitely possible but not guaranteed!

Very late in the game, but not impossible. Keep in mind that you'll have immense chances of birthing children with defects such as down syndrome

I’m 44 and have been trying since I was 39. Have had 4 failed rounds of IVF and 3 miscarriages in the past 5 years. So unfortunately it was too late for me. Plenty of people will conceive in their 40s but sadly for others (like me) it won’t happen. Until you try you won’t know which side you fall on.

You could go to a fertility clinic and get your fertility tested. I would honestly have a big deep think about it. If you do want children with him for definite, IVF would be an option too. I did IVF for other medical reasons and at 37 I was the youngest there a lot of the time (they called out dates of birth!). The vast majority seemed to be 40-45 and WITH IVF the success rates are hugely improved (although still reduce year on year.)

I had babies when I was 40 and 45. Both naturally conceived and both pregnancies and deliveries went without a hitch. Good luck.

I’m 42 and currently in Prague undergoing IVF (it’s cheaper here than the UK). I have had 4 failed rounds in the UK. It’s really expensive and difficult to balance with your work etc but I’m thrilled that I may have a chance, albeit a very small one.

We have been told our chances of conceiving with my own eggs are super low mainly because of my age but we are going to give it a few more tries.

We may consider using donor eggs out here if we can’t use mine and we will use my husband’s sperm. In Prague they will let a couple use donor eggs up to age 48. If we have to go down the donor egg route I personally wouldn’t want to be over 43/44.

Get yourself checked with ultrasound and AMH level testing (you can buy a home blood test off the internet and arrange a scan with ultrasound direct if you want to get cracking). This will let you know if you have a decent or low chance and if there is any… erm debris in your womb.

Your partner should get his sperm count checked too, you don’t want to go through all that only to find he has an issue.

If following your ultrasound your dr recommends a Laparoscopy which basically gives your womb a clean out -and it is very common for women over 40 to need one - bite their hand off as I know loads of women over 40 who got pregnant immediately afterwards (some delighted some horrified depending on their circumstances). I did (it was sadly not to be but was nothing age related).

So in summary:

1. get internal ultrasound and have amh levels checked and maybe a Laparoscopy can help. Amh levels will help you decide if you want to try naturally or via ivf
2. consider ivf with own eggs (and if so consider asking about duostim)
3. consider ivf with donor eggs

Good luck OP.

Do you know what “immense” means, as you’ve used it incorrectly here

I conceived naturally/ unassisted first time trying at 43, healthy pregnancy and baby.

I think the stats are overall. Either you will be one of the women who is fertile into your forties, or you won’t.

Fingers crossed for you.

I conceived naturally at 42 after a miscarriage at 41. First baby and pregnancy a breeze.

Hopefully you've been taking folic acid OP?
Best of luck OP. I know several women who started their families in their 40s.

My cousin is currently pregnant with much wanted little boy she is 43 x

Not too late at all but if it’s something you both want I wouldn’t recommend simply leaving it up to nature, you’ll have to be proactive. Start testing with ovulation kits and get both yourself and partner checked over at a clinic. You can wait and see if it happens when you’re in your 20s but time is of the essence in your late 30s/early 40s, you don’t have the luxury of relaxing unfortunately.

As much as you are wrong, if course.

The chance of Down syndrome is a bit less than 2% so a more than 98% chance of not having Down syndrome. If there was a 2% chance of rain and you said there was an immense chance of rain, people would think you didn’t understand what the word immense meant. There is a higher chance of issues than at 33, granted but the odds are still in your favour.

Good luck, OP!

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/ncardrs-congenital-anomaly-statistics-annual-data/ncardrs-congenital-anomaly-statistics-report-2020/maternal-age

Jumping from 10% under 20 to over 45% chance for over 35 of gene abnormalities in birth is an immense step statistically. OP should be taking informed decisions and not proceeding with a pregnancy based on wishful thinking.

I would both get all the basic check ups and eat well and take some good prenatal vitamins then see what happens.
Best to get everything checked in case there something like a blocked tube, then it can easily be fixed.

Not sure which stat you’re reading because it says 400.7 out of 10’000 in the maternal age section, so 4%. OP should not make a decision based on poor maths and scaremongering.