Late marriages are quite the norm today. And most couples take still longer to plan children. No doubt the trend has its advantages. Older couples are generally emotionally mature, financially stable and in a position to take on the responsibility of bringing up children. The downside however is that putting off having children could end in disappointment.

This is because women, once they touch the age of 30, gradually start to become less fertile. And though this varies between individuals, by the age of 40 the capacity of women to become pregnant is quite radically reduced. Many couples are forced to rely on specialized treatment to help them conceive.

Ovarian reserve
After puberty, all women go through a monthly cycle where a mature egg is released from the ovary from where it passes through the fallopian tube towards the uterus. For pregnancy to take place, the egg has to be fertilized at this stage by sperm.

The capacity of a woman to produce healthy eggs to enable conception is termed as her ovarian reserve. A number of factors influence this capacity. For instance, there is research to suggest that the size of the ovary determines how many follicles it contains. Since immature eggs are contained in these follicles, their number has an important bearing on the ovarian reserve. A woman with bigger ovaries and more follicles has better chances of successful conception and vice versa.

There are many ways to assess the ovarian reserve, especially in the case of women who have trouble conceiving. Counting the number of small eggs in the ovary by sonography can give an idea about the ovarian reserve. Blood tests are another option to measure ovarian reserve. One of the most reliable tests today is the anti mullerian hormone (AMH) blood test. Day 3 FSH, inhibin-B, and clomiphene citrate challenge test (CCCT) are other tests used for this purpose. These tests, along with other procedures, form an important part of treatment for infertility.

Age does matter
Even when still in the womb, the female fetus comes equipped with a limited, if generous, supply of oocytes or egg cells – up to 6 or 7 million. The problem is that this number reduces rapidly so that, at the time of birth, she only has about 1 or 2 million left. As she grows, these egg cells continue to waste away till they are all depleted by the age of about 50. This phase, when the woman is no longer capable of reproduction, is known as menopause.

Age, therefore, is a critical factor that determines a woman’s reproductive capacity. For instance if you are 40 and trying for a baby, your likelihood of getting pregnant in any particular month is just about 25 percent of what it would have been only ten years earlier. And this will keep reducing further as time ticks.. Putting off having a baby for later thus may not always be a good idea.

Also read: Why some women may find it hard to get pregnant

Tags: Pregnancy, fertility

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