International Women’s Day: Modern Fertility medicine empowers women

As we celebrate International Women’s Day (8 March) it is reassuring, for women of the 21^st century to know that modern medicine continues to expand their fertility options for the future.

The decision about when is the right time to have a baby, and even if you want to do this, can be challenging.

There are often competing priorities for women like establishing a career and/or becoming financially independent. Perhaps you haven’t found the right partner yet.

These are all common everyday concerns we hear and the good news is there are several options for them to consider, now and in the future.

Probably the most important information women need to know is the correlation between age and fertility.

A woman’s fertility significantly declines from 35 years of age.

Women are born with all their eggs and steadily lose them from birth to menopause – at about 1,000 per month during reproductive years – this accelerates from the mid-30s and also results in reduced egg quality and lower birth rates.

By age 40, it is estimated that a female’s conception rate is in the range of 8-10 percent per month and at age 43 it is thought to be 1-3 percent per month.

So if you are considering delaying starting a family the options are:

Egg freezing for fertility preservation

Egg freezing can potentially be helpful for women who might wish to try and have children at a later date.  The process of freezing female eggs has advanced rapidly over the past 10 years and research studies are reporting equally successful fertilisation and embryo development rates for frozen eggs as compared to fresh eggs. However, it is essential that egg freezing only happens after appropriate counselling.

While there are many egg freezing success stories, it is important to know that the younger the woman is when she freezes her eggs, the better quality they will be and hence the greater chance of a successful pregnancy at a later date. At City Fertility we offer a dedicated egg freezing service for women considering this option. To learn more visit the Chill Egg Freeze Australia website: www.chilleggfreeze.com.au

Wait and try to conceive when you are ready

Everyone has the choice of when to start trying for a family and hopefully, everything goes smoothly and you fall pregnant as planned.

However, if you do find you are having problems conceiving, there are plenty of assisted reproductive technologies that may help. These start with a thorough medical check-up with a fertility specialist and simple advice on timing, to early treatment options such as Ovulation Induction (OI), or alternatively Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI), In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF), genetic testing and egg and sperm donation.

Alternatively, if you are considering single parenthood at some point, then you can discuss your situation and options with a fertility specialist and counsellor. You will then need to consider the selection of a sperm donor and whether you use donor insemination or In-Vitro Fertilisation.

For more information about fertility preservation and fertility treatment options contact our Fertility Advice Team for a free chat on 1300 354 354

Phone: 1300 354 354

Email: contactus@cityfertility.com.au