Advanced Age Fertility

Many women are waiting until later in life to start a family. This is for various reasons. Perhaps a career or later marriage or simply wanting to “see the world.”

For me, I married later in life at age 35. My husband and I wanted to be married without kids for a couple years before we tried to get pregnant.

Frankly, I wasn’t sure if I could get pregnant at all. But after about two years of marriage we began trying in earnest to conceive.

Does anyone plan to have a hard time getting pregnant? We certainly didn’t. It took us off guard. Have intercourse, get pregnant – right?

Well, it’s not so easy as that, unfortunately, especially in that period called “advanced age.”

While it is very possible to conceive after age 35, it is considered to be a more difficult time to conceive.

Different factors cause this. Lower egg quality, lower sperm quality and number count, and a number of issues that can crop up as a man and woman age.

I wasn’t sure what difficulties my husband and I would face when we started trying to conceive at age 37, but I was soon to find out. After a few months of trying, I visited
an OB/GYN. She recommended I have an HSG, which is an hysterosalpingogram. This test shoots blue dye through a woman’s tubes in order to see if there are any blockages.
(This is in layman’s terms, of course!)

I did some research and decided against the procedure due to the side effects of pain and cramping. I’m also very prone to doing things as naturally as possible.

During the next two years, I tried various herbs and got really good at detecting when I ovulated. We ended up having two early miscarriages and then finally conceived our
first son when I was 39 years old. Our second son was conceived when our first was 15 months old, after only a few months of trying.

I would like to share with you what I did and what I learned as an “advanced age” woman.

First of all, every woman who is trying to conceive, no matter how old she is, should learn her body and when she is ovulating. If you are not ovulating, something’s wrong.
Seek to find out what that is by visiting a good naturopath or physician who leans more toward a natural approach.

Based on the many e-mails and questions I get, I have learned that the majority of women are ovulating, but they simply don’t know WHEN. It is CRUCIAL to know around the time
you are ovulating in order to get pregnant more quickly.

The tools I utilized to detect ovulation included BBT charting, ovulation predictor test strips, and cervical mucus detection. It is important to utilize as many tools as you can in order to more clearly determine when to have baby-making intercourse.

BBT charting doesn’t tell you before the fact when you will ovulate, but it does indicate that you have ovulated afterwards by revealing an elevated morning basal temperature.

Ovulation predictor testing, if done properly, can let you know within 12-36 hours when ovulation with occur based on a rise in LH.

Cervical mucus is the vaginal fluid that increases in the days before ovulation. Optimally, this fluid will become more prolific and thin the closer to ovulation a woman becomes. The consistency of this fluid can also give a woman clues to how fertile and healthy she is. The more fertile the cervical mucus, the better the sperm’s chance to reach the awaiting egg.

Next, you need to fix any hormonal issues that are causing your problems. Hopefully, you will find out specifically what your troubles are when visiting your physician and having appropriate testing done.

For “advanced age,” I had read a lot about taking a supplement called maca. Maca is actually a root grown in Peru and is used like food among the Peruvian people. It is said to
improve fertility in both women and men and also provide energy and a boost in libido. I can attest to all of these, as I believe maca greatly helped my husband and I conceive
after having two miscarriages. The thing that sold me on maca was the claim that it could improve egg quality. At age 39, I believed my eggs were “old,” so I was willing to
try this natural supplement.

If you are of “advanced age” like me, then it’s simply important to focus more heavily on timing and supplementation. You don’t have as long as younger women. But, of course,
you know this already.

In summary, get your hormone levels checked, get to know your ovulation cycle, get the timing of intercourse right, and supplement with the proper suppelements. If you stay focused and are willing to do whatever it takes, it is very possible to have a baby in “advanced age.”

About Sally

Sally is an “advanced age” fertility success story with two beautiful boys to show for it! She enjoys sharing with other women about how to increase fertility and become pregnant more quickly at Getting Pregnant Fast. If you need help with determining your ovulation, sign up for her free e-course entitled Zeroing in on Your Ovulation.