Planning to conceive a baby is perhaps one of the most important decisions in a person’s life. While you plan to conceive a baby, there are numerous factors that you need to keep in mind. Among all the facets that are important as well as necessary to conceive, your age is one of the most important factors that can highly influence your decision.
The chance of getting pregnant varies with the age of the woman. Besides, with an increase in age, the complexities also increase. So, here is some of the important information that you need to know.
What should you know before becoming a mother?
- You need to see your doctor to understand whether there are any existing complications with your body.
- You need to ensure that it is your decision to become a mom.
- Make sure you quit all unhealthy habits.
- Exercise regularly to become fit and healthy before you conceive.
- Bring significant changes to your lifestyle.
Before getting into complexities, let us first take a look into the basic things that you need to know. A female is born with about 2 million eggs at the time of her birth. The number of eggs that a female is born remains unchanged.
Chances of Getting Pregnant Age Wise
So, in your whole life, the number does not increase. But the number of eggs decreases as the age of the female rises. By the time a female reaches puberty, the reserve of the egg cells falls and reduces to about 300000 eggs in total.
But it is to be kept in mind that all these 300000 eggs are not going to help you get pregnant because not all of them will be ovulated. Around 500 eggs between the age of 12 to 52 will be ovulated and help you get pregnant.
But all these eggs in your entire menstrual phase do not help you to get pregnant. Let us now have a look at the different ages and the respective chances of getting pregnant.
Between the age of 20 to 24
This is perhaps the best period for a woman to plan to conceive because the eggs produced at this phase are all normal in terms of the chromosomes. Also, normal chromosomes ensure that the baby born will be a healthy one.
At the age of 24, the chance of conceiving is at the zenith. Researches have shown that a woman has a chance of 96% to conceive if she is trying every month. So, if you are ready, then this is the best phase for you.
Between 25 to 29 years of age
At this age, most of the couples may look forward to having a baby. The chances are also very high but they are lower than the previous phase. The chance of conceiving is 86% at this phase when tried for a year on each month.
At this age, the chance of miscarriage is slightly higher than that in the previous phase. But this slightly higher chance of miscarriage is almost insignificant. Thus, there is no need to worry about this. But if you are trying for more than a year, you may consult a doctor.
Between the age of 30 to 34
This phase in a woman’s life is quite easy when it comes to conceiving. The chance of conceiving at this age is 86% just like the previous phase. But, the chance of miscarriage is higher than in the previous phase.
At this phase, the chance of miscarriage is about 20%, which is not really negligible and can cause trouble. You will succeed if you try for about 9 months regularly. If you are not lucky enough to conceive, you should seek a specialist’s help.
Between the age of 35 to 39
At the age of 35, a woman has quite high chances of getting pregnant and that is about 78% to be precise. According to doctors, the age before 37 is quite good if you want to conceive.
But again, according to researches, the fertility in a woman reduces when at 35 and keeps o increasing. The chances of miscarriage increase with the increase in age. Besides, the risks of conceiving also rise.
Also, chromosomal anomalies start appearing in the egg cells produced, and hence, the baby is exposed to the risk of suffering from Down’s syndrome. Also, the chances of abnormal pregnancy increase as well.
Researches have shown that about 30% of women conceive in a year when tried each month. But doctors often suggest people to not wait for this long and six months is the deadline. This is because they can seek a specialist’s help to ease up the process.
Between 40 to 44 years
The quality of the egg cells also matters a lot when it comes to conceiving. At this age, the quality of the egg cells falls significantly and resultantly, your chance of conceiving. There are other risks involved as well.
Not only the quality of the egg cells reduce, but the condition of the uterus also deteriorates, and hence implantation of the embryo becomes very difficult. The lining of the uterus becomes thin which makes implantation difficult. Hence, this issue with the uterus is a significant cause.
At this age, the menstrual cycle also changes, and hence you need to keep proper track. In addition to this, the chance to predict your next cycle also becomes very difficult, and hence, the uncertainty rises.
45 years and above
At this age, the chance of a woman getting pregnant is no more than 3 to 4 percent. Technically this is not ‘impossible’ but in most cases, medical assistance is required to conceive. In vitro fertilization is one of the most common methods of medical assistance.
Pregnancy can be achieved successfully by in vitro fertilization. Using a donor’s egg is the easiest alternative for the process to be successful. The eggs produced naturally will have chromosomal anomalies and hence are best if avoided.
Can the chance of conceiving be increased?
The chance of conceiving can be increased if you can track your menstrual cycle and ovulation properly.
- Sexual intercourse according to your menstrual cycle can raise your chance to conceive by many folds. Irrespective of the length of the cycle in a woman, the ovulation occurs on the 14th day before the occurrence of periods. Having intercourse exactly five days before and after two days can help you conceive with ease.
- Copulating at the proper time of your cycle is the easiest and the most natural alternative available to you to increase your chance of conceiving. If the time of copulating is incorrect, the chance of conceiving reduces significantly.
- Besides, one must maintain a healthy body weight. Obesity can expose any woman to numerous risks and complexities regarding pregnancy. So, regular exercise to maintain a healthy weight is suggested.
- Having a balanced diet is of utmost importance to get pregnant. Any deficiency of nutrients or excess of any nutrient can affect the hormonal cycle and can deteriorate the environment suitable for implantation.
- As a result of this, fertilization will occur but implantation will not, and resultantly, the woman may fail to conceive. Also, a balanced diet improves the quality of the egg cells, and hence, the chances of conceiving also increase significantly.
- Additionally, a woman must also cut on smoking and alcohol consumption in order to increase the chance of conceiving with ease.
So, following these steps will increase the chance of a woman to conceive by a noticeable margin and will also ease up the whole process.
Frequently Asked Questions
At what age babies are exposed to chromosomal defects?
Generally, after the age of 37, the chances of chromosomal defects increase, and hence the baby may suffer from Down’s syndrome or other related disorders.
What body mass index is considered risky for conceiving?
Any body mass index above 25 is considered to be overweight. Hence, body mass index over 25 is risky for conceiving.
Does the chance of conceiving twins increase?
After 35, the hormonal cycle starts changing in women. As a result, the chance of conceiving twins may increase since multiple egg cells may be produced.
Does a miscarriage increase with age?
The possibility of miscarriages increases with the age of the woman because the hormonal cycle changes and the uterus also starts becoming unfavorable for implantation.
How often do we need a specialist’s help?
If you conceive with a year by the age of 35, you need not seek any specialist’s help. If you failed to conceive even after a year, you need to seek a doctor’s help soon. After 35, the span becomes shorter and reduces to six months.
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Mother of Two children. I’m a former teacher with a background in child development and a passion for Good parenting. I understand child development and know how to develop activities to help children learn and grow. Spare time, I enjoy spending time with my family, reading, and volunteering in my community.
