How age Affects Women's Fertility
When a woman reaches the age of 18, she should become more aware of her personal health and make annual appointments with aphysician for a health screening. Especially if a woman wishes to become a mother someday, she should be aware of how healthy she is and her chances of conceiving during her different life stages.
The younger a woman is, the better chance she has of conceiving a child. In fact, a woman is born with over 1,000,000 eggs. However, at the time of her first menstruation, the number of eggs is reduced by 90% to only 150,000 until she reaches menopause between the age of 40 and 50. Each month, more eggs are lost, whether the eggs are genetically normal or abnormal.
Between the ages of 20 and 30, a woman will carry only about 30% of normal eggs but this severely decreases by about half each decade. During her late 30s, a woman will have 16% of normal eggs and the number continues to reduce to as few as 2-9% of normal eggs between her late 30s to mid-40s. If a woman is having difficulty conceiving a child, there are many services available to help her find a solution. The younger a woman is, the longer she can wait before seeking help, but by the time she is in her mid-30s to 40s, she should seek help after 3 months. A very popular solution for natural conception, is to use donor eggs to conceive a healthy baby.
Not only should a woman be aware of her health and her chances of conceiving a baby, but she should know the chances of her baby being born healthy as she ages. Especially during her late 30s to mid-40s, she will be carrying fewer eggs with a higher chance of them being genetically abnormal. By carrying more genetically abnormal than normal eggs, there is a higher chance of a miscarriage or conceiving a baby with Down syndrome. To fully understand her chances of conceiving a healthy child at any age before menopause, again, she should seek help from health services to understand and consider her options.
(*Data Courtesy: Ashley Williamson, a freelance writer and an occasional guest-blogger interested in health, lifestyle and sport related articles. She shares her thoughts on various blogs and is a regular contributor on different sites. When she is not working she likes to travel and do yoga. )
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