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Is 30 or 40 Too Old To Have A Baby?

With women having a more prominent presence in the work place it means many will delay having their first baby until age 30 or 40. But when are you too old to have a baby?

Is 30 Too Old To Have A Baby

There's a reason why every woman is told about her "biological clock", and the need to have a baby early. Unlike men, women are born with all the reproductive eggs they'll ever have and are unable to produce new eggs as they age.

You have all these eggs in your system ready to conceive, but the real question is how long will those eggs remain "good eggs". You may see the visible signs of aging, like wrinkles or white hair, but we also age internally including our eggs.

It's the degradation of the eggs that results in a biological clock. The eggs have a timer on them, and at some point they'll turn from good, high quality eggs, to low quality eggs. So when does that happen?

Most women will see a reduction in egg quality by the age of 35. By that age it's estimated that 30% of your eggs will have chromosome abnormalities. As more and more eggs lose quality the lower your chances are of becoming pregnant.

Losing egg quality doesn't eliminate your chances of becoming pregnant but the odds of conceiving become less and less with each passing year. Infertility isn't just an on/off switch where you either can or can't get pregnant. It very much involves the likelihood or percentage that you'll become pregnant with each cycle.

Is 40 Too Old To Have A Baby

The age of 40 holds significance for different reasons. For some, it means they're finally "getting old", others give it significance because it's a round number. But for women trying to have a baby it holds statistical significance because of pregnancy complications.

Is 40 too old? Studies have shown that by the age of 40 nearly half of your eggs will have chromosomal abnormalities. It leads to an increase in birth defects, premature birth, and other complications. Women are still capable of giving birth to healthy children at this age, but the likelihood of becoming pregnant has decreased significantly.

For example, a twenty year old has a 20% chance of getting pregnant during a menstrual cycle while a forty year old only has a 5% chance. It means it will likely take longer for you to become pregnant.

Because of the decreased likelihood of becoming pregnant it places greater emphasis on your behavior and the need for creating an optimal environment to become pregnant.

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Is 30 or 40 Too Old To Have A Baby?

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