Infertility in Women Over 40

In vitro fertilization is used by thousands of women to turn back their biological clocks to give them the same fighting chance of getting pregnant when they were younger. However, a new study involving 6,000 women in a large Boston clinic found that while IVF can help women aged 35 and younger conceive in the same proportion as other women of similar age, it doesn't do much to help women over the age of 40.

Alan Penzias of Harvard Medical School who lead the study notes, "Even as effective as IVF is, it cannot reverse the effects of aging. We cannot reverse the biological clock."

Most clinics define IVF as a "success" in terms of the percentage of who achieve pregnancy in the treatment cycles however, it does not indicate the woman's chances of having a baby. This relies heavily on the woman's age and unfortunately, this study indicates that IVF treatments are not as successful for women over the age of 40.

Penzias further states, "For older women, we can restore you back to the same chance as fertile women of your age, but we can't make everyone have the same fertility as a 35-year-old. IVF does not reverse the clock."

If you are a woman who is 40 and older, you may want to carefully think about the effectiveness that IVF will have. It is by no means a guarantee that you will not be pregnant, but the statistics are not on your side. You should be empowered by the information that is available to you so you can make your personal plans and make proactive decisions before it is too late.

Before you seek out help getting pregnant, Mark Rothstein, a bioethicist at the University of Louisville, warns that "People have been given an overly rosey picture of the ability of fertility science and medicine to do almost anything. Part of it may be overselling by the clinics. Part of it may be denial and wishful thinking."

Bringing a child into this world is an awesome responsibility and if you are a women over 40 and wanting to get pregnant, be aware of all the options and all of the information that is available out there.

Getting pregnant is possible and many women have successfully brought a baby into this world. Keep an open mind and keep yourself as healthy as possible. To learn more about curing infertility in women, please take a moment to read this article and please visit pregnancyover40.tumblr.com for more information. Good luck and don't lose hope.