https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sun, 05 Apr 2026 01:10:21 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/yes-virginia-your-fertility-does-decline-in-your-30s#post-916744 Tue, 09 Jul 2013 17:03:24 +0000 Mrs. Jacks 916744@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mrsmate: I totally understand your perspective. I'm sorry you are going through that.</p> <p>Please understand that my lens is also different in that I started my family at 38 with a successful NTNP pregnancy with just lightening the birth control. The news from the Atlantic article really resonated with me.</p> <p>I saw another study recently that say that women who conceive naturally and carry to term in their 40's are statstically likely to live into their nineties and beyond. That also made sense to me.</p> <p>All of that is to say that the view through different lenses is very enlightening. I think the best lens to view this through is probably a public health or population based health lens and see what shakes out there. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/yes-virginia-your-fertility-does-decline-in-your-30s#post-916722 Tue, 09 Jul 2013 16:55:31 +0000 JoJoGirl 916722@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Jacks: Man. Nicely put. :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/yes-virginia-your-fertility-does-decline-in-your-30s#post-916713 Tue, 09 Jul 2013 16:51:51 +0000 mrsmate 916713@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I have to admit, I'm biased bc I experienced secondary IF (unexplained). I had many days when I thought, what if I just started trying earlier.</p> <p>As the Atlantic article says, having a baby before age 35 only "slightly lowers the risks of infertility and chromosomal abnormalities, and moderately lowers the risk of miscarriage", only a few percentage points. But what if you fall within that small percentage? And you won't know if you do until you actively start TTC?</p> <p>After what we went through, I couldn't in good conscience advise anyone older than 25 to delay TTC if they want to have a family. It seems like age matters especially if you DO have IF, with 50% of eggs retrieved from women under 35 having extra chromosomes, compared to 80% for women at 40. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/yes-virginia-your-fertility-does-decline-in-your-30s#post-916631 Tue, 09 Jul 2013 16:14:48 +0000 Foodnerd81 916631@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Oh-- I have to admit I haven't actually read the entirety of either article. I am basing my above opinion/frustration on the sensationalist news coverage I saw on some stupid morning show. Ugh-- I'm usually better than that :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/yes-virginia-your-fertility-does-decline-in-your-30s#post-916615 Tue, 09 Jul 2013 16:09:28 +0000 Raindrop 916615@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Jacks: Well said! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/yes-virginia-your-fertility-does-decline-in-your-30s#post-916612 Tue, 09 Jul 2013 16:09:09 +0000 dookie32 916612@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I read "The Atlantic" article and found it really interesting. I'm sure there are some decent rebuttals to it but this one is terrible. First of all, the main argument doesn't make any sense (even if you take out the 2nd half which I assume is a typo):</p> <p>“We have analyzed many thousands of eggs and embryos, and have substantial evidence showing that more than half half of eggs extracted from women under 35 have an irregular number of chromosomes."</p> <p>I can't decipher what the point is they are trying to make. Also- this guy runs a fertility clinic. His studies are done with women who are going to a fertility clinic, not the general population. I think his results would be a bit skewed. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/yes-virginia-your-fertility-does-decline-in-your-30s#post-916601 Tue, 09 Jul 2013 16:06:00 +0000 Mrs. Jacks 916601@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Ooh, I hate to disagree with the reputable source, but he's a fertility specialist, not a statistician or public health expert. The original article does indeed talk about how miscarriages are increased in older populations, though the specialist says the article does not discuss that. The article also takes into account the increased risk of chromosomal issues in older women, though he states it does not.</p> <p>Of course his experience is going to be very different than a population based view. What the specialist fails to note is that the damaged eggs that he extracts do not (for the most part) implant. So, it is not a fair comparison to say that 80% of eggs from a 40 year old are chromosomally abnormal and compare that to the statistic that 97% of 40 year olds have chromosomally normal babies, as most abnormal eggs will not implant or will be an early miscarriage.</p> <p>I appreciate his point of view and perspective and would probably share it if I had his job, but instead I see the population as a whole and have to respectfully disagree with him :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/yes-virginia-your-fertility-does-decline-in-your-30s#post-916560 Tue, 09 Jul 2013 15:54:06 +0000 Foodnerd81 916560@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Those arguments really annoy me! On one hand, yeah, no kidding that there isn't some magical switch that gets flipped on your 35th birthday making it harder to get pregnant. On the other hand, yes, the older you get, the more difficult it will be to get and stay pregnant. Not for every single person, and obviously there are way more factors at play that just age, but every other thing being equal it is harder for a 37 yo to get pregnant and handle the pregnancy than a 27 yo. I think being at the right stage in your life to be pregnant is way more important than your age, but it's common sense that there are age issues in the mix. </p> <p>This coming from someone who *gasp* waited until my 30s to get pregnant :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/yes-virginia-your-fertility-does-decline-in-your-30s#post-916549 Tue, 09 Jul 2013 15:50:05 +0000 mrsmate 916549@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>A couple of weeks ago, it was in the news that a woman's decrease in fertility after 35 was exaggerated:<br /> <a href="http://jezebel.com/fertile-and-30-is-the-new-flirty-and-30-520382993" rel="nofollow">http://jezebel.com/fertile-and-30-is-the-new-flirty-and-30-520382993</a></p> <p>Here's a rebuttal from a very reputable source:<br /> <a href="http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/6/prweb10860787.htm?PID=6147022" rel="nofollow">http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/6/prweb10860787.htm?PID=6147022</a> </p>