Women have used 88% of their eggs by 30
Filed under: Infertility — Alan @ 4:10 am
Scientists have defined the reason that women have a harder time conceiving later in life, apparently once they reach the age of 30 they have already used around 90% of their ‘ovarian reserve.’
Although most women will continue to menstruate and produce eggs during their 30’s and 40’s, the reservoir of eggs has decreased substantially according to the study completed by Edinburgh University and the University of St. Andrews.
Adding to the difficulty of conception is the fact that the body chooses the most fertile eggs first, which means that as women age, the eggs they have left are of a lower quality, which decreases the chance of conception and heightens the risk of a healthy birth.
The study found that most women are born with around 300,000 egg cells, but that the pool quickly decreases much faster than formally accepted.
Co-author of the study, Dr. Hamish Wallace, stated that at age 30 a woman only has 12% of her eggs left and by the time she reaches 40 about 3%. He continued to say that society as a whole has been overestimating prospects for fertility.
In general, the research pointed out that women make the mistake of believing if they are menstruating they can still conceive, but in reality the chances of conception decrease each year.
Dr. Wallace stated that information from the research could help women who are at risk of early menopause and those who have ovarian cancer since it will determine the best time to freeze eggs.
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