How Age Affects Your Fertility?

Age affects the fertility condition of both men and women. Know all age factors that affect your fertility and how to have healthy fertility conditions.

How Age Affects Your Fertility?
How Age Matters for your Fertility – Men & Women?

Yes, it’s a true fact that age affects the fertility factors for both men and women and to have a healthy baby. The ability to conceive gradually starts declining at the age of 34.

If the couples decide to have a baby later in life, it is very likely that the process of getting conceives and giving birth to a healthy baby will go smoothly without having any problems. However, in the older age of planning to get pregnant, it might get difficult to conceive and in the case of some couples, they may need to take the help of medical treatments, which is called assisted conception.

As the women get older, it becomes more difficult to become pregnant, and the possibility of miscarriage increases. However, in the case of men, their fertility also reduces with age, though to a minor amount.

Age limit to easily conceive

The chances of easy conception and giving birth to a healthy baby are much higher for women younger than 35 years and men younger than 40 years as compare to older women and men.

Why does age affect fertility?

  • Younger women have more and healthier eggs than older women.
  • Younger men have more active and better-quality sperm than older men.

Fertility decreases as the age of both men and women increases. In the case of women, after the age of 35 both the number and quality of eggs decrease over time.

Age and Eggs
All the women are born with all the eggs they ever have and these all eggs are stored in their ovaries. As women get older their eggs get older too.

Age and sperm

Men younger than 40 years of age have better chances to become a father than those who are above 40 years of age. Both the quality and quantity of the sperm produce decline as they get older.

How long it takes to get pregnant depending on age:-

One study found that for couples having regular unprotected sex:

  • Around 7 out of 10 women aged 30 will conceive within one year
  • Around 6 out of 10 women aged 35 will conceive within one year
  • Around 4 out of 10 women aged 40 will conceive within one year.

A study compared women’s ability to conceive, in different age groups. It showed that, compared to women aged 30-31, the chance of conceiving was: 

  • 14 percent lower for women aged 34-35
  • 19 percent lower for women aged 36-37
  • 30 percent lower for women aged 38-39
  • 53 percent lower for women aged 40-41 years.

How other factors can cause a decline in fertility?

There are various factors that can cause infertility issues in both men and women, like

  • Family history (i.e., mother or sister) of early menopause (before age 51)
  • History of cigarette smoking in either partner
  • Previous ovarian surgery 
  • Exposure to chemotherapy or radiation to treat cancer in either partner
  • Shortening in the time between periods
  • Skipped or missed periods
  • History of injury to the testicles
  • Exposure to toxic chemicals (certain pesticides or solvents)

If you are following a healthy lifestyle but still are struggling to conceive, schedule an appointment or contact us today.