35 and over: how long to conceive??

Hello ladies

Just wondering - for those of you who have had happy & healthy pregnancies over the age of 35, how long did it take you to conceive at that age?

Also, how did this compare with other pregnancies prior to that age?
:-)

I would be interested in these answers too since I will be 37 on my next birthday

I fell pregnant with Riley at 38 and had no trouble, I had a miscarriage the previous year and had stopped trying so decided to try again and fell very quickly but everyone is different. I found I was more achy this time but whether from age or the fact I already had 2 children its hard to know lol. I had far worse braxton hicks at the end too but again this could be 3rd child thing not age. All in all the pregnancy wasn't a lot different although I don't think my body had bounced back as well afterwards!!!!
I am enjoying this baby much more and am more relaxed and happy in myself than I was when I was younger. I enjoyed being pregnant more because I didn't have the body image issues I had in my 20s.
Good luck, there are plenty of women out there having babies in their late 30s and early 40s so you won't be alone.

Hi Sharon, I thought of you when I posted this thread question!

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Hi Sharon, I thought of you when I posted this thread question!

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It's nice to be thought of :)

My SIL was 41 when she had her first. Unfortunately it took them a few years (maybe 3?), and they had a couple of m/cs and an ectopic BUT......they were only TTC for a couple of months for their second, SIL was 43 when she had her! They now have two beautiful girls, and both fo them were naturally conceived!

I had my DD Eva when I was 37 - I conceived the first month of trying. I have had 5 losses since then... However my three mid trimester losses were not due to any chromosomal defect (often thought of as age related) so don't think "Oh My Goodness"!

MY husband thinks I get pregnant far more easily the older I get. We started trying for number 5 in January 2005 - I conceived in Feb. That baby died in May inutero and I conceived again in November 2005. I had an early miscarriage and conceived the next month in December 2005. That baby died in utero in March 2006. I conceived in June 2006 and had an early miscarriage. I conceived again in July and sadly that baby also died in utero in October 2006. So, conceiving isn't my issue... It seems though I have a clotting problem and this can be exacerbated by age.

I wish you all the best of luck. I know that some womens fertility declines - and obviously it does or we'd be having babies in Nursing Homes but it doesn't just suddenly shut shop at a certain age. It is different for us all. I sometimes wonder if the women we hear of who have diffiuclty conceiving after 35 - would they have had the same difficulties in their 20's???? Do you know what I mean.

We will be trying to conceive again soon and I am hoping that it won't be too long until I have another little one growing inside that stays there until it's safe to be born healthy and strong...

I wish the same for you all... :hug:

I wonder that too Deb. I know women in their 30s with fertiltiy issues, but I do wonder if they would have had the same issues in their 20s. They put it down to their age, but maybe they would have similar problems if they'd TTC earlier. I understand that fertility declines in women after a certain age, whatever that may be for each person, but I do wonder in a lot of cases if those same fertility issues have always been present, just unknown.

This post is not intended to be a criticism or anything like that, just a thought from a person who is constantly perplexed by the unfairness of the world at times!

I personally think we all have little clocks that tick their own tock!

I pray that I don't have any difficulty conceiving soon. I do think that older women have their fear of the Geebeewahs put into them at their age and the "risk". I do think we all age differently...

Deb, I'm sure you won't have any trouble conceiving soon. And when you give birth to your beautiful baby we'll all be shouting from the rooftops!

We tried for about 12 months from when I was 36 with no success and then conceived first cycle back after my endo was removed and my right ovary could 'breathe' again. SIL is 39 and she conceived 2nd cycle of trying. Good luck!

Sez,
Oh Lordy will I be shouting from the rooftops. Every time I think about what it will be like I feel so so so excited! I know there will be so many of you in here who will also share that with me. How lucky are we!!!!

We really are blessed to have BB aren't we? So many wonderful women to share our worries and happy experiences with, and hopefully to help some out along the way.

I really have everything crossed for you Deb.....:hug:

Thanks :hug:

Hi Girls,

As you all probably know, I tried to conceive for three years before being treated for endometriosis and doing an IVF cycle. William resulted from that first cycle. I was 37 at the time.

Sez and Flowerchild, I agree that many women over 35 could possibly have conceived more easily when they were younger but that is true of most women without fertility problems. Many women are unaware of a fertility issue or have no cause to consider it really until they start trying to conceive. It is only then that they start thinking "Gee, my periods have always been a bit out of whack" or "Maybe I should get this spotting checked out".

After 35, other fertility issues aside, the main concern becomes egg quality. You may be ovulating every month but that doesn't mean the egg is able to make it all the way to becoming a baby. Plenty of people can and do conceive over 35 however and many of us have healthy pregnancies.

Also agreed Deb that the clock is slightly different for every woman.

Good luck ladies.

Hi there Girls,
I have two children one was born when i was nearly 27 and the other when i was 29. With the first pregnancy i fell quickly after having a D@Cand dye studies. even after 10 years on the pill i fell pregnant within 3 months. With my second child i fell pregnant first month off the pill. Now here it is;i am now 35. We have been trying for 8 months and nothing. last week i had a d@c and dye studies and tubal flushing. I havent spoken to the fs yet but the theatre nurse said my file said something about pcos. So there ya go;thats my spin on things. I desperately want another child but am also worried that i have missed the boat and that i'm not producing anything viable and thats heartwrenching. I am very blessed to have what i have and they are cherished dearly,but who ever wouldve thought that it could be so hard this time and so emotionally charged.

Pauline

Melbo,
I think you have misunderstood. My wondering was women over 35 who are trying to conceive but having difficulty I believe that sometimes this is put down to an age factor. I am wondering though if those same women would have had the same difficulty conceiving in their twenties. Therefore is it an issue not connected with age... Do you know what I am saying?

Pollyanna,
We posted at the same time. I am sorry for what you are going through. I understand. I had no problems (or at least I thought) having my four beatiful live children but getting that #5 is proving to be an excercise in persistence and fortitude!

:) Hi there all, it took me about 5 months with my second baby and was 36 years when trying, this compares to falling pregnant almost immediately when I was 26 years old. What helped us was one of those gadets that you put your saliva on, it help determine when your ovulating with great accuracy. Good Luck to all those trying.

I was 37 & 7 months when I fell pregnant for the first time. It happened within a couple of months of trying... and by 'trying' we were only DTD about 1-2 x a week.
I had never been pregnant before, and I thought that I would have a real struggle to get pregnant.

I think that three things helped me...
I wasn't "trying" to conceive. My DH and I really didn't think it would happen, so we were just having fun and were relaxed about the whole thing. I think pressure is the biggest contraception!
I had lost about 7 kilos prior to getting pregnant. I was still about 7 kilos overweight at the time, but I think the fitness challenge I was on helped me.
I was taking folate tablets for about 2-3 months before hand. I've heard this helps 'older' mums to conceive.

... forgot to mention that we also discovered (after I conceived) that I had a HUGE cyst on one of my ovaries. It showed up in the ultrasound when we found out we were pregnant.

Doc said there was a good chance that this cyst would have prevented that ovary from 'working'...

I had a ceasar birth, and the doc removed the cyst after the baby was removed, and he checked both of my ovaries and said that they are both okay now. We're going to try again for another baby soon... hope it's not a long time to conceive... although now I have to lose 20 kilos !!!

JOdie, Yes there is evidence to suggest that higher than "normal" doses of folate can increase an "elderly" mothers chance of conceiving. I have often wondered if this has helped me. I have been on 5mgs of folate since my first mid trimester loss and I have managed to conceive well. Folate is known to have a positive affect on dna when taken in conjunction with b12 and b6... Being a b vitamin it's water soluable so we just "wee" it out...

hi well my story is as follows:

very 1st preg i conceived when i was 28yrs old - ended in a m/c at 11wks - prior to this we were trying but not really trying for around 2yrs. 8mths of trying after my m/c i conceived at the age of 29yrs. at the age of 30yrs i conceived my ds we didn't think it would happen so quick after previous attempts but hey he was eager and we conceived without really trying in the first month (oh and i was still breastfeeding at the time) fast forward a few more years and losing my 3yr old daughter to cancer our lives were well you can imagine, anyway we tossed the idea around for a while to have another child and we agreed sort of to jsut see what happens well 15mths later i fell preg with dd, i was 35yrs old at the time. then after some chatting we decided to try again, so we started ttc in july 2005 at the age of 36, we are still ttc, so far been 17 cycles and i turned 38 last month so who knows. it seems i do take quite a while to fall prg.

i take blackmores preg and b/feeding plus an additional folate tablet of .500mcg - so i think i am taking between 900 and 1000mcg of folate per day, flowerchild would you suggest any other extra's that may help.

i have been up and down in charting etc (i put far to much pressure on myself) so i go between some months trying everything to other months just seeing what happens.

good luck to all of us over that stupid age barrier of 35yrs old - may we all have happy and healthy babies in the very near future

HI Mooshie,
I know it's a long time to be trying to conceive but it's not a lot different to other times for you is it?
Folate has been shown to improve dna however it needs to be taken in conjunction with vitB12 and vit B6 I believe. As most women have heard "older " women are encouraged to take higher doses of folate and this will increase the chances of conception. I believe that this is one of those "wives tales" but I think it has some merit to it. Especially since we know that increased folate improves dna and dna is what cells are all about...
Folate rich food in "the old days" was also encouraged when ttc and if a miscarriage was threatened. So folate has a bit of a history in aiding with conception and in keeping pregnancies sticky...

Women who recurrently miscarry are often advised to increase their folate consumption to 5mgs. In Australia until recently the rdi folate supplement for pregnant and breastfeeding Mamas is 5oomcgs. So you can see the extra folate recommended to women such as myself is considerably higher. Folate by food sources cannot be relied upon as folate is easily damaged and destroyed. One of the prominent studies done in Israel on women who recurrently miscarry the women were all given a supplement of 5mgs of folate.

I don't like to recommend what to do as this could be seen to be giving medical advise. However, I do it, granted mainly due to the recurrent miscarriage factor but also due to my age. I also believe it is beneficial for you partner to be on it also. I don't really understand why his dna isn't as important (to some!) in the equation. So my ever suffering hubby pops his pills religiously every night!

Have you considered just having a cd21 blood test to confirm good ovulation? Not that I am thinking anything is amiss especially since it has taken some time to conceive for you in the past... Just a thought...

You are absolutely right. Bring on those gorgeous beautiful healthy eggs of ours to be met by and equally handsome and beautiful sperm!

I hope that helps some.... :hug:

thanks so much flowerchild for that - yes it does seem a while for my body to crank up and conceive lol i have not been on the pill for around 11yrs and we have not used contraceptive in all that time lol.

that is interesting about the folate because my ob/gyn put me on 5mg when i had my first m/c. when i brought my last lot of folate the chemist there told me that i should check with my gp before having a high dose of folate hmmm. i think i may go and get some of the 5mg which i used years ago. with last dd i was just having the blackmores preg and b/feeding formula but i am thinking of an extra kick along

i am also thinking of going back to my gp in the new year and looking at getting a cd21 test done.

thanks for your advise

You're welcome. Interestingly one of the pharmacists at my local chemist told me that many "older" mothers take folate to increase fertility. (she knows I have said goodbye to a number of babies) She also said that she tries to encourage supplementation of b12 and b6 to these women. I will have to ask her if she has a"study" on this...

Goodluck Mooshie - may 2007 bring us beautiful healthy strong babies to take home and love... :hug:

I conceived for the first time after 9 months of not trying but not preventing when I was 34(DS). Hit the jackpot as the month I conceived we only BD'd once!
Took five months when I was 37 but ended in the stillbirth of identical twin girls (no age related problems). 11months age 38 (blighted ovuum), 1 month at 39(DD)and first time lucky at age 40 (DD). This was shortly before my 42nd birthday. 2 months when I was 43 but ended in M/C due to cord accident (no age related problems).
Have been trying for 12 months now and am now on Clomid (2nd cycle). Seems that I have a progesterone shortage (short luteal phase) so fingers crossed it doesn't take much longer.

Good luck to you.
Debbie

flowerchild

the blackmores preg and b/feed formula gold has the following among alot of other things

per tablet

vitamin b6 - 750mcg
vitamin b12 - 1.5mcg
folic acid - 250mcg

take 2 tablets every day so total is double

i also take the megafol 0.5mg each day

do you think that is sufficient or should i get the 5mg folic acid instead

thanks

Mooshie the rdi for folate in Australia has just (only a few weeks ago) been increased to 600mcgs daily for pregnant and breastfeeding women. In some European countries the rdi is 800mcgs.

I personally believe that older women may benefit from an increase dose. There is no risk that I am aware of (and I have checked this out thoroughly!) of taking the 5mg doseage in conjunction with your daily prenatal supplementation.
I take b6 50mcgs and b12 100mgs on top of the Blackmores (I take this also). Interestingly I don't get fluro pee so I am thinking that my body is using almost all I am putting in (fluro pee is your body expelling the left over b vitamins).

As I have said every woman is different and her needs are different. However I don't believe it is harmful to take more of the b vitamins even if it's a long shot. Take note though it was on obstetric advise (from 4 obstetricians!) to take the increased doseage of these vitamins due to my recurrent miscarriage.

You don't have my history but you are over 35 so it's somthing I would think about seriously and investigate some more. Meantime I will ask the pharmacist next I am in there about the folate/age theory and if there is a study on this...

thanks for that info

much appreciated

Deb, yes I'm sorry I do understand what you are saying.

I can see where you are coming from in a way. It is just that I think if you have a situation where your age is a likely culprit for infertility, then it is more than likely you have already had or will be having tests to exclude other factors. Like I said in my previous post, you can have longstanding reproductive issues which mean you would have problems conceiving anyway but it doesn't seem likely that a cause like that would not already be known in a woman over 35. Maybe there are some people who just put it down to age and don't go to have things checked out so I can't speak for them of course.

I don't know if that has cleared up the issue or just confused things more.

Jodie, it's true that weight loss does help some women to conceive. I only wish the "relax" part worked for everyone as well as it seemed to for you. Unfortunately sometimes relaxing isn't enough. =)

I conceived at 35 with current bub and will be 37 when delivering. I am still b/fng every 3/4 hours and only had one af and fell after that. I thought being that tad older was going to be an issue for me and gave my self 12 months to try but im still as fertile as i was with #1 and #2.

So far so good, i get my first scan in a couple of weeks so ill soon see if i can make them ok.

Hi everyone,
Thank you all for sharing your thoughts and your own experiences on this issue.
Where would we all be without BB!
I am 33 and every second person keeps thinking its their 'duty' to tell me I should be having children etc etc before I get too old without having any idea of what is happening behind their intrusive eyeballs!!!!!
I truely believe what a lot of you have said, every woman is different and while there are studies around age and pregnancy and I acknowledge that as I get older fertility may drop, there are many woman who have no problem conceieving as they get older and still so many that find it difficult in their early 20's.

Deb - thanks for folic info. I already take 1mg (1000mcg) plus B6 240mg. I think I will start the B12 as well. Have been thinking of taking some extra folic. I think I may up it to 2mg (2000mcg). Not as high as you but I haven't had the miscarriage problem. Do you know if it is best to take the whole 2mg dose at once (4 tablets) or take 2 then 2 later in the day? Does it make a difference?

joeve73 - it's funny how other people think they have the right to suggest that maybe one should hurry up with the baby making just because we hit a certain age. You're right, they may have no idea what is going on (what you may be going through) "behind their intrusive eyeballs!". I love how you said that!

Hugs,
Debbie

I second that Debbie I loved how you said that too Joeve.

Debbie I can't see a problem with taking it at once. The 5mg tab is once a day...
Something that many doctors do not tell their patients (I believe some are not even aware of it!) is that folic acid requires b12 and b6 for the most effective absorption.
So, without the b12 and b6 you will not be getting as an effective treatment.
:hug:

This is a great thread!

We conceived Amy when I was 34 and 4 months and have been TTC #2 for 12 months now (I am now 35 & 5mths). It was only a few days ago when my temp was not rising and I thought that that was it and I was never going to O again. My cycles are regular and I think I O every month, and not bd much is not helping. But I had CD21 BT yesterday to check for a progesterone surge because I am starting to wonder.

Good luck to those TTC.