Today, there are many reasons why people delay starting a family, be it the pursuit of a career, the lack of a stable relationship, financial reasons, or simply personal preferences.
But how does this shift affect your chances of getting pregnant?
With the average age of mothers increasing across the globe, IVF at 40 – or even over 40 – becomes a viable solution for many women who either choose to delay motherhood or haven’t been successful in their efforts so far.
Is this easy or is 40 too old for IVF, really?
Let’s dive deeper into the IVF age limits and IVF success rates over 40, as well as the best practices available today that increase your chances of a successful outcome.
According to Eurostat, “the mean age of women in the EU giving birth to their first child is gradually increasing in all EU Member States, and stood at 29.4 years in 2019”.
According to Statista, “the average age of mothers in Europe in 2000 was at 28 years old, and at 26.4 in 1980”.
Similar data is retrieved from research in other parts of the world as well.
The reasons? Valid and manifold:
- more women are attending university and pursue careers
- the cost of raising a family has skyrocketed
- finding a suitable partner has become challenging
- advances in contraceptive technology result in greater control in family-planning
- women are more empowered to actively make choices
Unfortunately, chances of getting pregnant do decrease dramatically over time.
Recent studies have shown that the decline in fertility starts around the age of 32, progressively declining by age 40.
While at 30 there is a 20% chance to get naturally pregnant per cycle, this falls to 5% by age 40 and to 1% at age 45, making the age of the woman the most important factor affecting fertility.
More specifically, women are born with a finite number of eggs: at birth there are 1-2 million eggs. The number of these eggs gradually decreases over time, resulting to 300,000 eggs by puberty. At 40, there are around 10,000 eggs: 3% of the original supply.
For the majority of women, IVF at 40 is the best option for conceiving and giving birth to a healthy baby.
“IVF works miracles, but IVF doctors are not magicians. Women should know that reduced oocyte quality after the age of 40 affects IVF success rates”, says Dr Harry Hiniadis, reproductive gynecologist and associate of Redia IVF.
For many women over the age of 40 who have not yet conceived, reproductive technologies have been a blessing.
According to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), the success rates of IVF over 40 vary depending on several factors, including the age of the woman, the quality of the eggs, the skills of the medical team, and the individual circumstances of the patient.
Unfortunately, IVF success at 40 with own eggs is limited – it is estimated at lower than 10%.
Finding an IVF clinic with high success rates or the best IVF clinic for over 45 can be challenging to say the least.
This is why at Redia IVF we have developed our own IVF success rate calculator, factoring in all the necessary information that can help us suggest the best fertility clinics to our patients.
However, results show that, to increase a woman’s chances of getting pregnant over 40, IVF with donor eggs or through embryo adoption is the ultimate solution.
Today, IVF with donor eggs is common practice for women over 40 with excellent results. In most countries, IVF at 50 with donor eggs is also possible.
The maximum age for IVF with donor eggs varies depending on the clinic and country, but generally ranges from 50-55 years old. Now women well beyond their 40s can enjoy motherhood through IVF with embryo donation and fulfill their dreams of a healthy baby.
At Redia IVF, we are proud to report that donor egg success rates by age have been exemplary, especially for women over 40: for IVF over 40 using donor eggs, the success rate of our collaborating clinics is at 70%!
Despite the limitations associated with IVF after the age of 40, there are several best practices that can help increase the chances of success:
- Optimize your health: Maintaining a healthy lifestyle can help improve your chances of success with IVF. This can include eating a balanced diet, getting regular exercise, reducing stress, and avoiding smoking and excessive alcohol consumption.
- Consider preimplantation genetic testing (PGT): PGT is a technique that can be used to screen embryos for genetic abnormalities before they are implanted. IVF diagnostic tests can help increase the chances of successful implantation and reduce the risk of miscarriage.
- Consider donor eggs: For women over the age of 40, the chances of successful IVF using their own eggs can be limited. In such cases, IVF with donor eggs can be the most viable option.
Do you still have questions regarding IVF at 40? The expert team of Redia IVF is at your disposal.
Get in touch and we’d be happy to answer any questions you may have regarding IVF success rates by age, the best IVF clinics for over 45, as well as our IVF refund programmes that guarantee up to 100% refund if you don’t get pregnant!
