40 years is a wonderful age: one friend went on maternity leave, the other became a grandmother … Is it possible to give birth to a healthy baby after 40 years and what is needed for this, Elena Vladimirovna Sinitsyna, a doctor – obstetrician-gynecologist (reproductologist), told wday.ru .
As Elena Vladimirovna notes, more and more girls who are 40+ come to the reception (the oldest patient was 56 years old!) Who want to become mothers. Some for the first time, some for the second, some for the third … And everyone has the same questions: “Is it possible to give birth to a healthy baby after 40 years? What is needed for this? “
“Carry out an IVF program? Check the patency of the fallopian tubes? Like an ultrasound scan and “track” ovulation? Wait a year or two – what if it comes? In India, they give birth at 70 years old, “this one” at 56 years old gave birth… ”- the doctor answers these questions of his patients every day.
– So is it possible to give birth to a healthy baby after 40 years?
– There is such a dry thing – medical statistics: the chances of pregnancy and its successful outcome after 45 years are negligible, and after 40 years are small. I have been working as a fertility specialist for over 10 years. I have the only patient who gave birth after an IVF program at 44 years old (a healthy, full-term baby – but this is after 7 (!) IVF programs carried out in 1,5 years). There were pregnancies at 45 and at 46, but they ended almost immediately after the fact of pregnancy was established. The age of 40–42 years is no more than 20% of the chances of pregnancy with a good ovarian reserve in a woman (we are talking about pregnancy with our eggs).
– So is it worth hurrying if a woman after 40 years decided to become a mother?
– Definitely worth it! There is a very simple blood test for AMG – this hormone predicts the state of the ovaries. The lower the AMH level, the less chances of pregnancy, the faster you need to make a decision in favor of an IVF program, and not do folliculometry every month, wasting precious time.
And the next important point: the germ cells are given to a woman at her birth, and throughout her life, just like us, they grow up and age. The genetic material changes, and we must understand that the unborn baby may get “defective” cells, that is, the child may have developmental deviations. Someone is ready to raise a “special” child, someone is not. And instead of joy, there may be tears.
– So what to do?
– There are 3 options here:
1. Carrying out genetic diagnostics of embryos within the framework of the IVF program with the transfer of a healthy embryo into the uterine cavity. But in rare cases, healthy embryos may not exist, alas, this sometimes happens.
2. Sometimes we cannot carry out genetic diagnostics of embryos, NIPT comes to our aid (non-invasive prenatal test, cordocentesis, amniocentesis), if an “unfavorable” result is obtained, abortion.
3. Use of donor eggs (young healthy women).
– What advice would you give to women 40+ who really want a baby?
– Dear girls, if you nevertheless decide to become a mother, come to an appointment at specialized clinics, discuss with a specialist all the chances and risks, prepare for pregnancy with your husband – and, of course, give birth!