A woman's peak reproductive years are between the late teens and late 20s. By age 30, fertility (the ability to get pregnant) starts to decline. This decline happens faster once you reach your mid-30s.
A woman in her early to mid-20s has a 25–30% chance of getting pregnant every month. Fertility generally starts to reduce when a woman is in her early 30s, and more so after the age of 35. By age 40, the chance of getting pregnant in any monthly cycle is around 5%.
Even with all the understandable talk of “windows of opportunity” and “biological clocks,” there are ways for women over 35 to make motherhood a reality. Infertility treatments can be difficult and expensive, but fertility specialists can talk with you about options. Age is less of a limitation than it used to be.
But as people get older, they face an increased risk of medical issues that can potentially complicate their pregnancy. While delivering at age 35 and older is officially considered “advanced maternal age,” Dr. Kalish notes that in reality, there's no “magic number” for being at-risk for complications.
A gap of 3 years or more greatly reduces the chances of sibling rivalry. By this time the older child is secure in him or herself and quite independent. In addition, the mother's body is fully recovered from the challenges of pregnancy and birth of the first child.
Women who become pregnant in their 30s and early 40s can have safe, healthy pregnancies, says Ellie Ragsdale, MD, director of fetal intervention at UH Cleveland Medical Center. But they do face a higher risk of some problems.
Pregnancy risks are higher for mothers older than age 35. Lifestyle choices.
This study found that, compared to women ages 30-31, the probability of women getting pregnant within a given menstrual cycle was 86% for women ages 34-35 was: 83% for women ages 36-37, 70% for women ages 38-39, 47% for women ages 40-41, and 41% for women ages 42-44.
Male Fertility Facts
Peak male fertility is around 25-29 years old. Sperm quality begins to decline at 30. At 45, men begin to experience a significant decrease in semen volume. Older men can also take longer to conceive a child.
What are the chances of getting pregnant the first time trying? Some people get pregnant within the first month, but this is not always the case. Getting pregnant can take up to a year or longer. Conception in the first month occurs for about 30% of people attempting pregnancy.
An adequate intake of folic acid during pregnancy, believed to protect against neural tube defects (NTDs) in babies, may also help prevent Down's syndrome, researchers report in The Lancet this week.
There's no way to prevent Down syndrome.
Some studies show that while there is a higher risk of pregnancy problems in older women, their babies may not have more problems than babies of younger women. This is more likely when women get prenatal care and give birth in a healthcare facility ready to care for high-risk mothers and babies.
A woman's peak reproductive years are between the late teens and late 20s. By age 30, fertility (the ability to get pregnant) starts to decline. This decline happens faster once you reach your mid-30s. By 45, fertility has declined so much that getting pregnant naturally is unlikely.
As you get closer to 40, it's biologically more difficult to get pregnant and you may have a higher risk of miscarriage, chromosomal issues, and other pregnancy complications. But most women in their 30s will get pregnant with little trouble.
Despite the growing trends mentioned above, two children still seems to the ideal number. An actual study revealed one to two children is the ideal number for “happiness”, but with two you don't have to deal with the aforementioned only child issues.
"Half-your-age-plus-seven" rule
An often-asserted rule of thumb to determine whether an age difference is socially acceptable holds that a person should never date someone whose age is less than half their own plus seven years.
While, according to a TODAY Parents survey1, having three kids may be the most stressful, it doesn't mean that being a mom to three doesn't totally rock. You don't just have one kiddo to love, you have three and three kids that get to grow up and experience all the adventures of childhood together.
A woman's risk for general health issues and pregnancy-related health issues gradually increases every year — and there's not much difference between 34 and 35. However, 35 is the age at which medical research indicates that risk factors related to pregnancy merit some more discussion.
As men age, their risk of fathering a child with Down syndrome may increase—the older the man, the more likely that the process of spermatogenesis, or sperm production will go awry, leading to sperm that contain errors like an extra chromosome.
Down syndrome, also called trisomy 21, happens by chance, can't be prevented, and isn't caused by anything a parent did or didn't do. Fortunately, the health problems can be managed well, especially when found early, and many resources are available to help kids and their families.