Is it common to see women over 40 in your clinic trying to get pregnant with their own eggs?

Approximately 20-30 percent of my patients are over 40. When you compare the number of women seeking IVF over age 40 in areas like the Bay Area, it is considerably higher than in other parts of the country. NY and LA also see this, likely due to career women and societal influences on the time to start a family.

How does my age affect my chance of getting pregnant?

We know that female fertility declines with age. Unlike men who continue to make new sperm throughout their lives, women are born with a finite number of eggs. Therefore, it follows that as the years go by, the number and quality of available eggs diminishes. Unfortunately there are no medications available that can increase the number or improve the quality of a woman’s eggs. Fertility treatments can, however, improve a woman’s monthly chance of achieving a pregnancy by increasing the number of eggs that are available for fertilization.