It is a truth for many of the female sex, that our modern lifestyle means that more and more women are delaying motherhood until later in life. Common reasons include:
- Your career took priority in your most fertile years.
- The right partner didn´t come along until later in life.
- You waited until you had economic stability.
- There were goals to achieve before focusing on children.
- You decided later in life to wait no more and become a single mom by choice.
Unfortunately, the quality and quantity of eggs that a woman has declines sharply from the age of 35, and many women in their 40s find they can no longer conceive with their own eggs. Advances in the field of assisted reproduction have come to the aid, with the use of donor eggs that are altruistically given by young healthy women. Add to this the latest techniques in egg cryopreservation, and you have the introduction of egg banks, such as OvobankUS, which provide a great solution to access donor eggs for women who turn to deIVF to start the family they have always dreamed of.
WHAT SHOULD YOU BEAR IN MIND IF TRYING FOR A BABY LATER IN LIFE.
If you are asking yourself this question, and haven’t already done so, it is time to go to an assisted reproduction clinic. A good clinic will perform gynecological examinations and hormonal studies, along with a detailed look at your medical history, to assess your fertility and give you the best advice possible as to your chances of getting pregnant with your own eggs, or with those from a donor.
If we delve into the data collected and provided by the CDC in their Assisted Reproduction Technology (ART) report 2020, we can see a comparison of the percentage of embryo transfers which resulted in live birth, according to the age of the patient. The data compared embryos transfers from donor eggs or embryos, to embryo transfers from patients own egg or embryos.
We can summarize this data into two take home points:
- Using own eggs and embryos, there is decrease in success rates success after the age of 35.
- Using donated eggs or embryos, the success rate stays above 35% despite the advancing age.
The positive message to take from this is that there is a good chance of achieving the long sought after pregnancy with the help of donor eggs (or embryos, in the case of embryo donation).
WHAT SHOULD YOU BEAR IN MIND IF TRYING FOR A BABY LATER IN LIFE.
It is important to bear in mind that having a baby at a later age does mean a higher risk pregnancy, and a possibility of more complications during the birth. For this reason it is essential to follow the advice of your medical team, and lead a healthy lifestyle. The good news is that with the right lifestyle and proper medical monitoring, there are many women who have no problems in pregnancy in their 40s.
Furthermore, some states may have an upper age limit for assisted reproduction treatments, in particular embryo transfers.
REASONS WHY OLDER MUMS MAKE GREAT MUMS
Nowadays, we are seeing an increase in the number of older moms, which brings with it people who will make negative or judgmental comments about their decision to have a baby later in life.
With this in mind we want to take a look at some of the great advantages older moms can have over their younger counterparts:
1. Older mums have more financial security: although not always the case, an older mum is likely to have advanced in her career and have a higher earning potential. By this stage in life mortgages could be smaller or already be paid off.
2. More settled in life: having lived for more years means there has been more opportunities for travel and new experiences. Being an older mum means you have more than likely had your fair share of partying, travel and adventure, and are more than ready to settle down for the years of focused child rearing.
3. Life experience: as we age we collect experience, and hopefully, wisdom. An older mum generally has a great depth of knowledge and experience to draw on.
4. Greater self-confidence: It is well known that as we age we become more at ease with ourselves, worrying less about what other people think and more confident in ourselves and our decisions. What better example could there be for a growing child than a self-confident parent.
If you find yourself identifying with any of this, then we understand and support you. OvobankUS can help you with access to donor eggs, without waiting lists, and with all the medical screening and genetic testing of the donor already performed.
Contact us today and one of our friendly coordinators will be there by your side to help you through the process.