Approximately 10-13 percent of American women between the ages of 15-44 years are unable to conceive or carry a pregnancy to full term. There are many causes of infertility; key among them is that women are now commonly postponing pregnancy until their late 30’s or early 40’s. In fact, about 20 percent of US women have their first child after age 35. About 30 percent of couples in which the woman is over 35 experienced issues with infertility.
From the time a woman begins menstruating, she has about 400,000 eggs available for fertilization even though about 1 million eggs existed when she was born. Each month, a woman may produce several eggs for ovulation, but only one will be fertilized. Because the number of eggs available for fertilization declines with age, the difficult increases for a woman after she reaches 35 years of age.
Egg quality is another consideration: eggs should be healthy, the right shape, and with the right chromosomes. These conditions are essential for eggs to be released for fertilization and embryonic development. Generally, the eggs produced by a 40 year old woman are not comparable to a woman 20 years old. Poor egg quality can lead to a variety of complications, such as failure to naturally conceive, repeated miscarriages, and a high failure rate in IVF. Another risk factors is a potential for genetic mutation leading to an abnormal chromosome which results in a baby born with Downs Syndrome, not uncommon for women age close to 40 years old.