Opinion on age and declining fertility

NicoleNielsen59

Good afternoon ladies,

I want to get your opinion on something. Its not for me, its for my sister who is not a Bump member yet. She just turned 35 this month and wants to TTC right away. However, my brother in law wants to wait another 6 months to pay down some debts and save. Do you think there is a difference in fertility right at 35, 35 and a half, and 36. I told her that it really depends on the person, but I wouldnt think that 6 months longer would make a difference. Thanks for your feedback :-)

 

happywifemomofone

It all depends on her fertility right now.  I would suggest she see her OB/GYN and have an AMH level and 3 days labs drawn to check her FSH.  If numbers are ok, then I would say that waiting might not make a difference.  Her OB can advise her on whether it is advisable to wait.  Egg quality goes south, and exactly when that happens is individual to each woman.  The TTC > 35 is a great place to learn about fertility.  Even if she is not TTC right now, she can learn about charting her cycle and interact with other like minded individuals.  She will also have the opportunity to SEE there that it's not always as easy to TTC as we might light it to be, for many different reasons.

 

ELF4321

Ditto to everything happywife said! I know people who had no trouble getting pregnant in their late 30s, and others like myself diagnosed with prematurely aging ovaries by the time I was 36. There's just no way to know unless they get testing done ahead of time or just start TTC and see what happens.

Guennie

happywifemomofone said:

It all depends on her fertility right now.  I would suggest she see her OB/GYN and have an AMH level and 3 days labs drawn to check her FSH.  If numbers are ok, then I would say that waiting might not make a difference.  Her OB can advise her on whether it is advisable to wait.  Egg quality goes south, and exactly when that happens is individual to each woman.  The TTC > 35 is a great place to learn about fertility.  Even if she is not TTC right now, she can learn about charting her cycle and interact with other like minded individuals.  She will also have the opportunity to SEE there that it's not always as easy to TTC as we might light it to be, for many different reasons.

 

This. There is no one size fits all answer. For someone in great health with no fertility issues six months may not make a huge difference, but we can't predict what someone's body is going to do. If there are any issues a doctor may advise not to wait. If she wants a solid answer based on her own personal health she really should get that opinion from a doctor.

jb2rn

yeah, hard to say. At 34 I was dx with DOR and was very lucky to get pregnant.

 

However, I have a friend that got pregnant easily and naturally at 39, and 40. And many other friends that got pregnant cycle 1 of trying at age 35. you just don't know.

I also don't know many MD's that will run a AMH or CD3 FSH w/o trying first, but she can try. She may need to pay OOP, though.

*sparky*

Agree w/the others...the only way to really know is if she has some testing done.  It is not like everyone's fertility declines at the same time and rate.  Generally speaking, though, I would say hat six months should not make that much of a difference in the grand scheme of things.  It is not like your ovaries suddenly shut off at 35 - it more of a gradual decrease in fertility over time.