The ticking clock: Getting pregnant in your 30s
Today, a growing number of women are delaying motherhood until later in life. Whether you haven’t yet met the right partner or are simply focused on other priorities, it’s important to understand that getting pregnant in your 30s may be harder than it was during the peak fertile years of your 20s. This is especially true after your 35th birthday. Our Connecticut fertility specialist, Andrew Levi, MD, can help you determine where you are in your fertility timeline, and can also provide accurate diagnosis and treatment for infertility in your 30s if you need it.
Why is infertility in your 30s common?
While other causes of infertility can affect women of any age, a likely cause of infertility in your 30s is diminished ovarian reserve, or age-related decline in egg quantity and quality.
The reason that you might encounter infertility in your 30s is largely due to the fact that you have a finite supply of eggs. Women are born with a fixed, lifetime supply of eggs, called oocytes, and do not make new ones during their lifetime. By the time women begin ovulating in their teens, hundreds of thousands of eggs are already gone. More are lost year after year, not just through ovulation, but by natural depletion over time.
By the time a woman reaches age 30, about 90% of the eggs she was born with are gone. Around age 35, a woman’s remaining egg supply typically begins to diminish more rapidly as she moves toward menopause. Eggs can also lose quality and develop genetic abnormalities as they age.
For most women in their early 30s, the odds of conceiving during a single menstrual cycle are about 20%. After 35, chances of conceiving in any given cycle go down to about 15%. By the time you reach 40, the chances of achieving pregnancy in any given cycle drop to 5%.
Don’t wait to seek help getting pregnant in your 30s
Whether you are trying to conceive without success or considering how much longer you can wait to have a baby, Dr. Andrew Levi can help you determine where you are in your fertility window. Simple fertility testing involving blood work and an ultrasound exam can tell Dr. Levi your ovarian reserve and whether fertility treatment may be helpful for getting pregnant in your 30s.
If fertility testing determines that your egg supply is low, don’t give up hope. Effective fertility treatments are available if you are facing infertility in your 30s. These include intrauterine insemination (IUI), IVF, and the use of donor eggs for women with very low ovarian reserve.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends fertility testing for all women 35 and older who have been trying to conceive for six months without success. Fertility testing is also recommended for women younger than 35 who have been trying to conceive for a year or longer. However, if you are in your 30s and are experiencing unusual symptoms, such as irregular or painful periods, don’t put off making an appointment to see Dr. Levi to get the answers that you need.
Contact us to schedule a consultation with our Connecticut infertility specialist, Dr. Levi, for a complete fertility workup and to learn more about getting pregnant in your 30s.
