IVF For Women Over 40

OVERVIEW

The age at which a woman chooses to start a family is steadily increasing as more and more women find it important to complete their education and pursue a career which makes them economically independent as well as have a stable relationship before embarking on motherhood. Women are born with a  finite number of approximately 1 million eggs. By puberty this count is down to 3,00,000. As time passes, this count goes on decreasing, which results in a decline in fertility. The chance of pregnancy at the age of 30 is about 20 - 25% per cycle but by the age of 40, the chance of getting pregnant per cycle decreases to just 5%.

IS IVF POSSIBLE FOR WOMEN OVER 40?

The good news is that assisted reproductive technology has advanced to such an extent that with the right reproductive medicine specialist followed by an obstetrician specialising in high risk pregnancy care you can still explore IVF and have a healthy baby even if you are over 40. At Milann we follow a personalised IVF treatment protocol with close monitoring through ultrasound scans and blood tests to monitor your hormone levels and titrate your dose of stimulation drugs to produce an optimum number of eggs. . This tailored approach followed by egg retrieval and IVF/ICSI will produce sufficient embryos which will then either be transferred through a fresh embryo transfer or frozen for a frozen embryo transfer later.

For women, where the first cycle of IVF/ICSI does not result in producing many embryos, you may be offered the possibility of ‘pooling’ cycles. In this scenario the woman goes through two or three IVF cycles wherein the embryos are pooled and the best Embryo selected for transfer. Embryo selection is done through PGT-A.

As women age, not only does the number of eggs she has deplete, but the quality of her eggs also declines. Poor oocyte quality means poor embryo quality as well as a higher chance of chromosomal abnormalities. Hence PGT plays a very important role in ensuring that the quality of the embryo being transferred is the best possible. PGT is known to reduce the time to a successful pregnancy by minimising the number of embryo transfers and avoiding potential miscarriages.

LIFE STYLE MODIFICATIONS FOR THE WOMAN OVER 40

Certain lifestyle and dietary adjustments can improve the chances of conception through IVF. A balanced diet with plenty of protein and healthy carbohydrates and fats can support fertility. Quitting smoking, reducing alcohol & caffeine intake and increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables can enhance the overall quality of eggs. It is also advisable to start a prenatal vitamin to boost your folic acid levels. Coenzyme Q 10, DHEA, Vitamin D and Omega 3 are some other supplements which may be advised.

If you have any further queries, please reach us at info@milann.co.in or to schedule an appointment with one of our doctors, call us at +91-9513310580. We would be happy to be of assistance.