Discover what women need to know about pregnancy after age 35
Pregnancy after age 35 is an option for many women receiving support from our Tennessee fertility center. One of the most common barriers to conceiving after 35 is egg quality and quantity. A woman is born with about one million eggs, and this number drops to around 300,000 by the time she hits puberty. This number continues to diminish as she ages. Because of this, it’s important for women 35 and over to receive support from a fertility doctor if they’ve been trying to conceive for six months or more.
Learn more about the potential challenges of advanced maternal age pregnancy
After a woman turns 35, a variety of factors can make it harder to conceive. Because of this, the doctors at our Tennessee fertility clinic order testing to determine if any of these factors are present.
Low egg quality or quantity. By the time a healthy woman reaches 30, she has a 20% chance of conceiving each month. By the time she reaches the age of 40, she has less than a 5% chance. This continual decrease results from the quality and quantity of the woman’s eggs diminishing with age.
Chromosomal abnormalities. As a woman ages, her eggs are more likely to have chromosomal abnormalities. Eggs with too many or too few chromosomes could prevent an embryo from implanting or lead to a miscarriage.
After the fertility doctor assesses the results of a woman’s fertility tests, they work with her to develop a treatment plan.
Treatments that can help women develop a pregnancy after age 35
Two primary treatments can help women with low egg quality or quantity. These treatments can help women bypass the common barriers to developing a pregnancy after age 35. They can also help the doctor transfer a healthy embryo into the woman’s uterus.
IVF with PGT-A. In vitro fertilization (IVF) with preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A) allows an embryologist to determine if a patient’s embryos have the correct number of chromosomes. PGT-A helps prevent chromosomal abnormalities from affecting the healthy development of the pregnancy.
IVF with donor eggs. If a woman does not have eggs likely to result in a healthy pregnancy, the doctor might recommend donor eggs. Egg donation allows the patient to use healthy eggs from a young woman who undergoes comprehensive screening.
Our Tennessee fertility center helps women through each step of developing an advanced maternal age pregnancy so that they can fulfill the dream of taking home a healthy baby. Contact us for more information about pregnancy after age 35.
