IVF over 40

[WishingonaStar77]

Hi all,

I posted in the conception pages but not had any response.

I'm 41 and 3 recurrent MC in last 2 years. All tests are normal so far but awaiting recurrent MC appt next month.

Reading IVF stories (as my friend is going through her second) and I see many ladies my age have struggled and had to go 2/3 times before success.

I'm not sure how IVF will help me if I can get pregnant just keep MC?

Don't know whether to keep trying natural or pay up for IVF. Will only be able to afford one round if we do.

Any advice as to whether this will help me? Or similar stories?

Many thanks xx

Barring any more specific information when you have the recurrent miscarriage appointment, the only advantage I'd really see to IVF in your situation would be if you also did PGS, but - and these are big buts - it's ferociously expensive and you could end up with no normal embryos at the end of it, just through the law of averages.

(Apologies, this next bit always makes it sound like I'm talking about some withered crone, which you absolutely are not!) By the time a woman is in her 40s, over 90% of her eggs will be chromosomally abnormal. You'd also potentially be less likely to respond as well to the stimulating drugs used during IVF (although, this will vary from woman to woman and there are blood tests which can give an indication of your likely response). All of that means that you'd potentially be less likely to end up with a large number of embryos, and it would be more likely that a significant proportion of those embryos would be chromosomally abnormal. It's also generally accepted, even for younger women, that IVF is likely to take several cycles to be successful (not that it's never successful on the first go, just that in terms of the odds it's not a magic bullet in the way people often think.)

And, like you said, you're getting pregnant anyway.

If it were me, I'd go along to the recurrent miscarriage appointment and see what they say and then, barring any revelations there, I'd probably keep trying naturally. And alongside that, I'd think very carefully about whether donor eggs would be an option that I'd be prepared to consider, and save up against the possibility of trying that route in the future. But, I say that from the vantage point of having had miscarriages myself, had unsuccessful IVF with my own eggs myself, and already made the jump to donor eggs myself, so that's easy for me to say and what looks like the right path for your might be very different.

@persipan thank you for taking the time to reply. I've read all the stats I know how slim our chances are but it's not impossible. I just want to make the best decision as soon as I can so we don't lose any more time.

My partner is against donor eggs and I'm not fully convinced either. I'd like to do all we can to use my own eggs but I have heard the genetic testing is hugely expensive so we simply couldn't afford that.

I am trying acupuncture at the moment for egg quality I've heard good things.
Will be interested to see what the recurrent MC appointment brings but I don't have hope they will suggest anything else other than donor eggs or to just keep trying.

Sorry to hear about your journey. Was your donor egg successful? X