IVF can however help improve chances of successfully conceiving a healthy baby, even after 40 years. the procedures of egg retrieval and screening of embryos can help improve pregnancy outcomes.
Realistically, you can always undergo IVF unless you have experienced ovarian failure and/or menopause. However, pregnancy success rates using your own eggs drops considerably for women over 40.
IVF Success Rates Over 40
For women over 40, the IVF success rate is around 7%, with women under 42 having a higher rate of success than women over 42 years of age. In many cases, women over 40 may decide to use donor eggs.
For women aged 40-41 when they started, there was a 13 per cent chance of a baby after one cycle, a 21 per cent chance after two cycles and a 25 per cent chance after three cycles.
As you can see, even after age 43, the pregnancy rate using donor eggs remains excellent. The incidence of miscarriage will be around 15%. Also, the chances of having a baby with a chromosomal abnormality (e.g. Down syndrome) will be low.
In one study, researchers found that 40-year-old women treated for infertility had a 25 percent chance of getting pregnant using their own eggs. By age 43, that number dropped to 10 percent, and by 44 it had sunk to 1.6 percent.
IVF isn't usually recommended for women over the age of 42 because the chances of a successful pregnancy are thought to be too low.
The success rate using eggs over age 44 is about 1% per attempt.
Not only is Mini IVF the best treatment protocol for women over 39. Other women can benefit from this holistic IVF alternative, Including: Women suffering from tubal factor infertility. Women with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) who produce over 15 eggs but are low quality.
How many eggs does a woman have at 40? By the time a woman reaches 40, she'll be down to about 18,000 (3% of her pre-birth egg supply). Although the chances of conception are lower, this does not mean it is impossible to conceive at this age.
In Australia, the latest success rate for IVF for women under 30 is 21.2 per cent (as of 2017). However, this drops to 16.5 per cent for women between 35 to 39 and plummets to just 5.2 per cent for women between 40 to 44.
After 42, however, pregnancies are rare so in general we do not recommend them. At that point you should go to donor eggs. If you don't want to keep trying with your own eggs, or you've reached the end based on answers to the above two questions, then your best bet is donor eggs.
If you're pregnant at 41, 43, or older, you may understandably worry about how your age may impact your pregnancy. Luckily, while the risks of complications are lower in your 20s and 30s, you can have a healthy pregnancy in your 40s, particularly if you are otherwise in good health and get regular prenatal care.
Having a baby after 40 may give couples the chance to wait until they are more emotionally and financially prepared for parenthood. However, it can make it more difficult to get pregnant, as fertility declines with age. For women, in particular, fertility dramatically declines over the age of 40.
Pregnancy in Your 40s
If you get pregnant after 35 years old, experts call this an “advanced maternal age” pregnancy. But it's still possible to get pregnant and deliver a healthy baby in your 40s. Childbirth at older ages has become more common too. Since the 1990s, birth rates in people aged 40-44 have gone up.
Most women over 40 have healthy pregnancies and babies. However, it can sometimes take longer to get pregnant and some people experience complications.
For women, in their early 40s, IVF is still a good thing to try and gives significantly higher success rates than trying naturally. However, IVF success rates fall sharply after the age of 40 and by the time a woman is 45 are close to zero.
There are many things you can do including taking CoQ10, eating a high-fat diet, and more that may significantly improve your ovarian environment and thus optimize your egg quality in your 40s.
Mini IVF success rates over 40
According to a research study conducted on women aging 39 years or younger who underwent the mini-IVF process for around six months, nearly 50% of the mini-IVF group successfully achieved conception and gave birth to healthy kids.
It is true that fertility does decline with age, but many women conceive naturally aged over 40 and go on to have healthy pregnancies and healthy babies.
However, it is not recommended to attempt IVF over the age of 45 years with your own eggs, as very few women conceive and have a baby with their own eggs at that age.
While it's true your fertility levels drop when you turn 35, it's still possible to get pregnant later in life, even after the age of 40. Ovarian function (meaning you still ovulate regularly) and general health are the main factors that will determine if you're able to get pregnant after 40.
Egg Quality Deteriorates With Age
Women reach the peak of their fertility at around age 24. After this age, egg quality slowly deteriorates until around age 37, and then deteriorates more rapidly until about age 42. After roughly age 42, fertility for most women basically falls off a cliff.