Is age a factor in trying to conceive ?

[mummy of many]

At the end of this month I turn the big 40!

I`ve had 4 boys & 1 daughter,ages from 19 to 5 years.....but would like another little girl.
Do you think I should be worried about my age?

I hear alot of negativity about age factor for us ladies,should I just ignore people`s comments and do my own thing?
Thanks ladies.

[chody47]

From what I can tell it is for some people and not for others. Some young people have much more trouble than people in their 40s and visa versa.

[Mildez]

Yes I would ignore other peoples comments and do your own thing. Obviously the older you get the higher chance of certain things occuring like not falling pregnant, increased risk of m/c and a few chromosomal abnormalities but there is still a good chance you will fall pregnant with a healthy baby. If I wanted another baby at 40 I would still ttc regardless of statistics any what others say.

[bubno.3]

I fell easily at 38 and again at 40 and all well .... i say go for it

[RainbowRiver]

I say go for it!
Age is always a factor regardless, and I wouldn't let it stop you from trying

Good luck TTC!

[bubno.3]

and you want too so even more go for it

[juniper76]

Yes, age definitely plays a part, but it's not the whole story. As you get older, you have fewer chromosomally-normal eggs, but it becomes more of a problem when you are also running out of eggs (ie nearing menopause). I am only 36, but I have diminished ovarian reserve (DOR), so my age is very much against me because I have very few eggs left and most of them will be chromosomally-abnormal. If I had a normal ovarian reserve, my age would be less of a problem. If I were 10 years younger with the same DOR I would have a much better chance of conceiving because I'd have more good eggs.

If you want to TTC, then I wouldn't let other people's concerns about your age stop you. Quite frankly, it's none of their business (unless it's your husband or someone else supporting/responsible for your family). If you are not successful in the first 6 months, then I'd see your Dr for a referral to a specialist; they can do testing to determine if there are any other factors working against you.

[mummy of many]

Thank you ladies for you input,my hubby is so excited,so I guess we can only try.

[Cherished]

Stacks of woman have healthy babies at 40. I think it depends on the woman. Lots of woman are healthier at the age of 40 then what they were in their late 20's and early 30's (I know I'm getting healthier all the time) many of the negativity comes from people thinking that at the age of 40 you wont be able to keep up which is so narrow minded! What Juniper said is true though, there are some biological things to consider which is just a fact of life there are more risks or stats I should say which suggest that you may need to consider your age.

[nothing2lose]

It has little to do with general health and much more to do with ovarian reserve and reproductive health. Many women can have a child at 40 but most cannot. To put it in perspective, statistically, a 40 year old has only a five per cent chance of getting pregnant in each ovulatory cycle.

I say, go for it. Like you said, you can only try

Good luck!

[AndiE]

I think it depends who you talk to, and as others have said, some women in their 20s will have problems conceiving while a woman in her late 30s/early 40s may not have any issues.

I put a lot of faith in an acupuncturist/TCM practioner who assisted us to conceive DS3 - she firmly believed age wasn't a factor, it was more to do with the woman - and importantly, the man's - general health pre-TTC. She said she'd helped countless women/couples in their 40s conceive, but after they'd cut sugar, alcohol, smoking etc out of their diet to improve their health. She insisted that the man was as, if not more, important than the woman when it came to successful conception/pregnancy. Personally, I don't know ... I'm just repeating what she told me on many occasions. At 38, nearly 39, it took us approx 10 months of TTC to fall pregnant with DS3 (with assistance from acup/TCM/naturopath-led diet, DH had TCM too as his sperm count wasn't brilliant) ... so definitely possible!!

Good luck

[onthefly]

It's certainly up to you as to whether you go ahead and try!
Statistically, yes, age does affect fertility. That's on average, across the population. There are obviously individual variations, as with all things.

[snowie]

It's certainly up to you as to whether you go ahead and try!
Statistically, yes, age does affect fertility. That's on average, across the population. There are obviously individual variations, as with all things.

I was just looking to ask a similar question. We are TTC #2 and have been for a couple of years - with illness for me, it has not been successful. I was 38 when I conceived DD and 39 when she was born. We had a number of miscarriages before she was born, but I believe they were due to a number of factors, not just age. I place hope in the fact that my mother conceived my sister at age 40 and my grandmother had her last child at age 47 - hoping the reproductive genes have gone my way.