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 Mid-Iowa Fertility
More and more women are having their first child after the age of 35. This time also coincides with the biological decline in fertility potential. One of the most challengingclinical scenarios is the impact of the aging egg on pregnancy chances. This decline in fertility potential, or "ovarian reserve", is the natural consequence of the agingprocess on human eggs.
The human ovary has two major functions. One is the reproductive function or production of eggs (oocytes). The second is the steroidogenic function or production of hormones, mostly estrogens. The reproductive function of the ovary has a much shorter lifespan that the steroidogenic function. Therefore fertility potential declines in the 30s, even though menopause occurs in the late 40s to early 50s. Each woman is born with a set number of eggs, predetermined before birth. This pool of eggs is
never replenished. A female fetus will have the greatest number of eggs around 16-20 weeks of pregnancy (6-7 million); at birth this number decreases to about 2 million, and by puberty to about 300,000. This constant and dynamic process of decline continues until menopause, and is not interrupted by birth control pills, pregnancy, or ovulation. From this reservoir of eggs, fewer than 500 eggs will ovulate during a woman's reproductive years.
Lower pregnancy rates and higher miscarriage rates are both the consequences of the aging process, and reflective of a decline in egg quality. Women ovulate theirhealthiest eggs during their 20s and early 30s. By the mid 30s the remaining eggs are of lower quality, and by the early 40s only eggs with very low fertility potential are available for ovulation or ovulation induction. This phenomenon is a normal biological process, which neither fertility medications nor lifestyle changes can halt. A healthy egg has two functions necessary for a successful pregnancy. First, it must have normal chromosomes, and second, it must be able to combine its chromosomes with those of the sperm in a correct and efficient manner to produce a normally dividing and growing embryo.
www.midiowafertility.com
Mid Iowa Fertility
1371 NW 121st St.
Clive, Iowa 50325
Telephone: (515) 222-3060
Toll-Free: (888) 306-3060
Fax: (515) 222-9563IVF Clinics Des Moines |
