Pregnant after 35
SeaSoul
member
Anyone 41+??
SeaSoul
member
Would love to hear success stories!
Had my first 6 days after my 40th birthday. Now TTC #2, at age 41 (42 in December). Since DH is infertile, we use donor sperm...our first was conceived on the 1st try (IUI), and I got pg this June on the 1st try as well (IUI) - but that ended in an early miscarriage.
Gearing up to do it yet again...and getting nervous!
Childhood cancer (DH) + chemo + radiation = 0 sperm.
LO #1 - 1 unmedicated/self-monitored IUI w/ donor sperm.
LO #2 - 1 m/c, 2 BFNs, 4th IUI worked (unmedicated/self-monitored with new donor sperm).
Life is beautiful!
LO #1 - 1 unmedicated/self-monitored IUI w/ donor sperm.
LO #2 - 1 m/c, 2 BFNs, 4th IUI worked (unmedicated/self-monitored with new donor sperm).
Life is beautiful!
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Re: Anyone 41+??
Thanks for sharing your story! I've not heard of this test - it's more specific than the standard FSH test?
LO #1 - 1 unmedicated/self-monitored IUI w/ donor sperm.
LO #2 - 1 m/c, 2 BFNs, 4th IUI worked (unmedicated/self-monitored with new donor sperm).
Life is beautiful!
Yes, I am 41 and will give birth to my fourth child just before my 42nd birthday.
I have a 21 year old son and a 19 year old daughter. My first husband, their father passed away. I fell in love with a younger man and 18 months ago gave birth to his first child. And now, I'm pregnant again!
When we first started getting serious, I told him that if he wanted children some day "I'm not the one". haha Later I said, "ok, knock me up quick because I'm not getting any younger". We got pregnant the first try! We decided that two years apart would be an appropriate again to have another child so we don't raise this one without siblings his own age, and again, got pregnant on the first try.
My two oldest are 24 months apart. The two little ones will be 22 months apart. My two middle ones are 18 years apart, and they all couldn't love each other more! And they all keep me super young!
I am 41 and due to deliver in 15 days. This is my second marriage - and we decided to try for a baby for a few months and then if it didn't look like things were going to happen (because we were older) my hubby was going to get a vasectomy.
We wound up getting pregnant on our honeymoon!!!
Best of luck to you on your next IUI attempt!
Here's some information on Anti Muellerian Hormone testing. My gyno ran this test since it can be run on any day of your cycle verses the FSH test that should be run on the third day of your period, I think?
What is AMH?
AMH, or anti-mullerian hormone is a substance that is produced by granulosa cells in ovarian follicles. It is first made in primary follicles after they advance from the primordial follicle stage. At these stages the follicles are microscopic in size and can not be seen by ultrasound.
AMH production is highest in the preantral and small antral stages (less than 4mm diameter) of follicle development. Production decreases and then stops as the follicles grow larger. There is almost no AMH made in human follicles over 8mm in size. Because of this, the levels are quite constant and the AMH test can be done on any day of a woman's cycle.
AMH and fertility
How can AMH hormone levels be a fertility test?
Since AMH is produced only in small ovarian follicles, blood levels of this substance have been used to attempt to measure the size of the pool of growing follicles in women.
Research shows that the size of the pool of growing follicles is heavily influenced by the size of the pool of remaining primordial follicles (microscopic follicles in "deep sleep"). Therefore, AMH blood levels are thought to reflect the size of the remaining egg supply - or ovarian reserve.
With increasing female age, the size of their pool of remaining microscopic follicles decreases. Likewise, their blood AMH levels and the number of ovarian antral follicles visible on ultrasound also decreases. Women with many small follicles, such as those with polycystic ovaries have high AMH hormone values and women that have few remaining follicles and those that are close to menopause have low anti-mullerian hormone levels.
AMH levels and pregnancy chances with in vitro fertilization
Women with higher AMH values will tend to have better response to ovarian stimulation for IVF and have more eggs retrieved. In general, having more eggs with IVF gives a higher success rate.
We do not have a lot of data yet on what to tell couples going through IVF about their AMH results and chances for conception. However, the table below shows ranges for AMH levels and some information about interpretation.
AMH levels probably do not reflect egg quality, but having more eggs at egg retrieval gives us more to work with - so we are more likely to have at least one high quality embryo available for transfer back to the female partner's uterus.
What is a normal AMH level?
Interpretation of anti-mullerian hormone levels and chances for conception
There are some problems involved with interpretation of AMH hormone levels. Because the test has not been in routine use for many years, the levels considered to be "normal" are not yet clarified and agreed on by the experts. Also, not all current commercial assays give equivalent results.
The table below has AMH interpretation guidelines from the fertility literature and our own experience. Do not get carried away with the cutoff values shown here. For example, the difference between a 0.6 and a 0.7 ng/ml test result puts a woman in a "different box" in this table - but there is very little real difference in fertility potential. In reality, it is a continuum - and not something that categorizes well.
More will be learned regarding anti-mullerian hormone levels and outcomes as we continue to use the AMH fertility test and study the relationship between AMH hormone values and fertility, ovarian responsiveness, chances for IVF success, etc.
LO #1 - 1 unmedicated/self-monitored IUI w/ donor sperm.
LO #2 - 1 m/c, 2 BFNs, 4th IUI worked (unmedicated/self-monitored with new donor sperm).
Life is beautiful!
I was almost 40 when DD was born. I had DS, born 6 mos ago, at age 44. I did have a m/c a few mos. before becoming pregnant w/DS, but that was the only negative event. Both pregnancies were uneventful. Good luck to you!! :-)