A survey suggests that at least 20% of women prefer to wait until or after they are 35 to have a baby. As more and more women are waiting to start their family, age-related infertility has dramatically increased over the last decade. A woman’s peak fertility is typically in her 20s. Women experience a gradual decline in fertility in their early to mid-30s. Also, at the beginning of age 40, her pregnancy potential reduces by up to 50%.
Generally, infertility can be defined as a failure to conceive after a full year of unprotected intercourse. Women over 35 should speak to their doctor after just 6 months of trying to have baby as their biological clock is ticking.
Many different factors contribute to reduced fertility. It includes irregular ovulation, and medical conditions such as Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) and endometriosis. But the most important factor that affects fertility in women over the age of 35 is the rapid decrease in egg quality and ovarian egg reserve. This quality decrease impairs fertilization and embryo development and significantly reduces the chances of achieving a healthy pregnancy. The decrease in egg quality also increases the risk of miscarriage and chromosomal abnormalities.
New research also suggests that there are certain things applicable to improve egg quality. These can ultimately increase the ability to conceive and improve the chances for a healthy baby. Let’s have a look at them.
Increasing chances for a healthy baby and conceiving
1. Coenzyme Q10 Helps Improve Egg Quality
Ovulation is a process that consumes a lot of energy. Mitochondria are the source of energy in the human body, and the egg contains more mitochondria than any other cell.
Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) plays a significant role in energy production inside the mitochondria. With age, cellular production of CoQ10 decreases, so an older woman’s eggs are less efficient at producing energy. Such reduced energy production leads to poor fertilization and early embryo loss or miscarriage.
Taking supplemental CoQ10 as a “mitochondrial energy nutrition” for the egg can help improve egg quality and eventually lead to a better chance of achieving a healthy pregnancy.
CoQ10 is fat soluble, so it must be processed by the body for proper absorption. It is best to take CoQ10 with a fat-containing meal. Even so, CoQ10 is not very well absorbed, especially those in tablet form. There are some medications that claim to have a formula for better absorption, but that claim goes without any proof. Instead look for a CoQ10 supplement formulated with VESIsorb®, a system that has been proven to improve the absorption and bioavailability of supplemental CoQ10 by more than 600% comparing to other CoQ10 supplements.
2. Dehydroepiandrosterone for improving Ovarian Reserve
Ovarian Reserve (OR) is a term which is used to determine the ability of a woman’s ovaries to produce eggs of high-quality. Every woman has all the eggs she will ever produce when she is born, so no new eggs will be produced in her lifetime. The ovarian reserve of a woman naturally decreases as she ages. This is the reason that women over 35 have a harder time getting pregnant and have baby.
The Adrenal glands produce Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) hormone. DHEA level typically peaks at about 20 years of age and declines rapidly after the age of 25. Research also indicates that 75 mg of Dehydroepiandrosterone per day will increase the number of eggs. It also improves embryo quality and thus increases the success rate of live births in women undergoing In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). DHEA takes time to work, so it’s supplementation should go on for at least six weeks or more prior to starting an IVF cycle.
3. Inositol for Women with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is not only common for women over 35 but can occur even at a very young age. The ratio of women having PCOS is one out of every fifteen in the United States. Hormonal imbalances cause Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome which prevents ovulation. It also makes getting pregnant more difficult for women of any age. This imbalance contributes to abnormal weight gain and other symptoms such as excess facial hair and acne. Most women that have PCOS develop small cysts on their ovaries.
Inositol is a vitamin-like carbohydrate compound. When taken in a certain form such as myo-inositol, it may help induce ovulation in women with PCOS. Inositol helps improve the way the body uses insulin.
4. Vitamin D and Pregnancy
It is crucial to achieve an optimal Vitamin D level before pregnancy and maintain it during pregnancy. A recent study proves that women who become pregnant through IVF show significantly higher levels of Vitamin D than women who didn’t get pregnant. Women with a Vitamin D deficiency are four times less likely to achieve pregnancy as compared to women with a normal level of Vitamin D.
Low vitamin D levels are common among pregnant women who have had complications during pregnancy. Prenatal vitamins only provide 400 IU of Vitamin D, which is an inadequate amount for most women. Recent research has found that doses of 2000 to 4000 IU of Vitamin D is safe for pregnant women and effective in achieving normal levels of Vitamin D. You should consider checking with your doctor about your Vitamin D levels and how much you should take.
5. Diet and Lifestyle Choices
Diet and lifestyle choices have an enormous impact on your fertility. A study conducted by Harvard showed that women following healthy lifestyle factors, including diets, were at a 69% lower risk of the ovulatory disorder as compared to women who did not engage in any of these factors.
- Foods and Vitamins
Consuming more monounsaturated fats rather than trans fats, and more vegetable rather than animal sources of protein has the potential to increase your fertility to its highest score. It also has been proven that women who took a multivitamin daily, had a lower body mass index, and have better fertility.
Some studies have associated a diet rich in veggies, vegetable oils and fish to have increased the chances of pregnancy. Such a diet also helps the chances of pregnancy in women undergoing IVF treatment.
You should also limit foods containing trans fats, such as baked goods, pie crusts, frostings and anything fried. Foods rich in monounsaturated fats such as olive oil, avocados, nuts and seeds, and canola oil should be integrated into your diet. Besides meat, alternative sources of protein such as beans, lentils, legumes, quinoa, nuts, and seeds will also help increase your chances of a successful pregnancy to have baby after 35 as well as in early age.
As soon as you begin to conceive, you should start taking a good prenatal vitamin. Your vitamin should include a complete range of nutrients including extra folic acid, choline, and vitamin D. Folic acid and choline are important during the early stages of pregnancy when a baby’s nervous system is developing. This is often before a woman even knows she’s pregnant.
- Weight Control
Being overweight or underweight can interrupt normal menstrual cycles and impair ovulation. So achieving a healthy weight and BMI is important for getting pregnant. Research also indicates that it takes longer than usual for obese women to get pregnant. Fertility treatment is generally less successful for such women and they are at a higher risk of miscarriage.
When trying to get pregnant moderate physical activity is a key factor. A study found that women who are overweight, adding any type of physical activity can improve fertility. It was also found that too much physical activity for women who are normal weight or underweight increased the time it took them to conceive. When these women decreased their amount of physical activity, their fertility improved.
- Limit Caffeine
Finally, you should limit caffeine. Caffeine is a stimulant found in food and beverages such as coffee, tea, and chocolate. Although inconclusive, studies show that even 16-ounces of coffee can decrease your chances of conception and increase the risk of miscarriage.
If you still have questions about having a baby after an age of 35 and want to learn more, you can visit us at www.coastalfertility.com or call us at 949-726-0600 to schedule a free consultation.
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