Possible To Get Pregnant Naturally At 45?

If your period is the only time you give attention to what goes below your belt, probably, you are above 45 and not alone.

It is easy to get caught in celebrity culture of getting pregnant after 40 and beyond. But most celebrity pregnancy which is supposedly conceived ‘naturally’ without any fertility treatments are not all true.

Not just celebs, several women who delay their pregnancies due to various reasons do not fare well like the younger lot. So, is there anything like ‘too old to be pregnant’? Trying to conceive beyond 45? Here’s a crash course on reproduction and the odds of conception after 45.

You must be aware that women are born with 1 to 2 million eggs at birth and those are the only ones you are going to have in a lifetime. And by the time you get your first period, your eggs dwindle to 300,000.

Human reproduction isn’t all that efficient – only one week in your entire cycle of which your odds to get pregnant are really favorable. You need to devote all the time you have in that one whole week for baby making.

It is important to know that getting pregnant after 45 is not impossible but it isn’t easy either. At 45, the likelihood of getting pregnant is no more than 3 or 4 percent. It is not the same as getting pregnant when you are in your early twenties. The odds are low. With age, the quality and quantity of eggs also go low. Generally, women’s fertility declines rapidly after 35, so when you are trying to get pregnant after 45, it is going to be hard and take longer time.

Assisted reproductive technologies are almost inevitable to get pregnant after 45. IVF is most common. Screening before IVF is critical as few eggs left may have chromosomal abnormalities. Success rates are very low and using donor’s eggs from a younger woman is recommended.

Older women are more likely to have pregnancy complications. Preterm labor is very common. Gestational diabetes, hypertension, and few challenges could make it harder to conceive and to stay pregnant. Some women may have uterine lining issues with age. The uterine lining might thin and blood supply to it decreases with age and making it difficult for the egg to get implanted.

Always seek help from your doctor and fertility specialist if you wish to get pregnant after 45. No one can judge or advise anybody about what age is right to get pregnant. But the longer you wait, the less likely it is for you to get pregnant, so act fast!