As a woman's age increases, her ability to become pregnant and carry a pregnancy to term decreases due to the many biological changes taking place in her body. From age 30 to 35, the chances of becoming pregnant gradually decline and after age 40 there is a sharp decline. Even if a woman becomes pregnant at a later age, chances of miscarriage and chromosomal abnormalities, resulting in birth defects such as Down's Syndrome, increase with age. Assisted reproductive technologies, including in vitro fertilization and intracytoplasmic sperm injection, also become less successful as age increases.

Although it varies from woman to woman, fertility typically declines during your mid- to late-thirties. The number of your eggs declines, the likelihood of medical problems such as endometriosis increases, ovulation often becomes irregular, your ovaries produce less estrogen and progesterone and your eggs become resistant to fertilization and tend to have more chromosomal abnormalities.

The physicians at Georgia Reproductive Specialists will evaluate your medical history, conduct a pelvic exam and run other tests to determine hormone levels and ovulatory function before making a diagnosis. After the diagnosis, your physician will discuss options for increasing your chances for pregnancy including ovulation-inducing medications, assisted reproductive technologies (IVF and ICSI) or the use of an egg donor when other therapies fail.

Determining Ovarian Reserve
Fertility by Age and Duration