If you think you have a fertility problem, you may feel all
alone. But your not. In fact, infertility affects more than 6 million
American women and their partners. That's about 10 percent of Americans
who are of reproductive age. Some estimates put the figure as high as 20
percent! Infertility affects men and women with almost equal frequency.
It's important to remember that many different conditions can affect your ability to conceive. Bur it's equally important to remember that recent advances in drug therapy, microsurgery, and assisted reproductive technologies are making it possible for half to three-quarters of the couples seeking treatment to conceive.
The longer a woman waits to conceive, the longer it will take her. The optimal time for a woman to conceive is between the ages of twenty-two and twenty-six. However, many women in their early twenties do not want to conceive-they may not be married, or they may be busy pursuing a education or careers, or they just may not feel ready to start their families.
Fertility starts declining after the age of thirty and more rapidly after thirty-five. A woman under thirty has about a 20 percent chance of conceiving each month. By the time she reaches forty, her chances of conceiving drop to only 5 percent each month.
Why is this? After age thirty, hormone levels start declining and eggs start deteriorating subtly. A woman is born with all her eggs-about 300,000. But as she approaches menopause, only a few thousand eggs-eggs that have been around for a lifetime-are left. And older eggs are not only not as fertilizable as young eggs, they're much more likely to carry chromosomal abnormalities such as Down Syndrome. But if you're older, don't despair-the majority of older women who carry a pregnancy to term give birth to healthy babies.
Fertility among men also decreases with age, although not as dramatically as for women. Older men tend to have lower levels of testosterone, and this in turn affects their sexual drive, as well as their ability to achieve and maintain an erection. Older men are also more likely to have medical conditions, such as hardening of the arteries, or diabetes, that can impair sexual ability.
In addition, older couples tend to have sex less often than younger couples. And the older you are, the greater the chances are that you have gotten illnesses that can interfere with your fertility, such as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), diabetes and thyroid disease.
While chance of conceiving decreases the older one gets, the chance of miscarriage, or spontaneous abortion, as it is called in the medical field, increases. Miscarriage is a relatively common occurrence. Ten to 12 percent of pregnancies in women under thirty-five years of age end in miscarriage; 18 percent of those between thirty-five and thirty-nine, and 34 percent of those between forty and forty-four, do as well. More than half the pregnant women forty-five or over miscarry.
It's important to remember that many different conditions can affect your ability to conceive. Bur it's equally important to remember that recent advances in drug therapy, microsurgery, and assisted reproductive technologies are making it possible for half to three-quarters of the couples seeking treatment to conceive.
The longer a woman waits to conceive, the longer it will take her. The optimal time for a woman to conceive is between the ages of twenty-two and twenty-six. However, many women in their early twenties do not want to conceive-they may not be married, or they may be busy pursuing a education or careers, or they just may not feel ready to start their families.
Fertility starts declining after the age of thirty and more rapidly after thirty-five. A woman under thirty has about a 20 percent chance of conceiving each month. By the time she reaches forty, her chances of conceiving drop to only 5 percent each month.
Why is this? After age thirty, hormone levels start declining and eggs start deteriorating subtly. A woman is born with all her eggs-about 300,000. But as she approaches menopause, only a few thousand eggs-eggs that have been around for a lifetime-are left. And older eggs are not only not as fertilizable as young eggs, they're much more likely to carry chromosomal abnormalities such as Down Syndrome. But if you're older, don't despair-the majority of older women who carry a pregnancy to term give birth to healthy babies.
Fertility among men also decreases with age, although not as dramatically as for women. Older men tend to have lower levels of testosterone, and this in turn affects their sexual drive, as well as their ability to achieve and maintain an erection. Older men are also more likely to have medical conditions, such as hardening of the arteries, or diabetes, that can impair sexual ability.
In addition, older couples tend to have sex less often than younger couples. And the older you are, the greater the chances are that you have gotten illnesses that can interfere with your fertility, such as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), diabetes and thyroid disease.
While chance of conceiving decreases the older one gets, the chance of miscarriage, or spontaneous abortion, as it is called in the medical field, increases. Miscarriage is a relatively common occurrence. Ten to 12 percent of pregnancies in women under thirty-five years of age end in miscarriage; 18 percent of those between thirty-five and thirty-nine, and 34 percent of those between forty and forty-four, do as well. More than half the pregnant women forty-five or over miscarry.
No comments:
Post a Comment