Is it possible to improve the chances of conception over 40? This is a common question that arises in many women’s minds as the studies mention their reproductive health starts declining after a certain period. This makes conception more challenging in the late 30s and 40s.
However, some advancements in fertility treatments and lifestyle modifications prove that age doesn’t need to be a barrier to fertility and conception. This article explains possible ways to improve egg quality even after 40.
Here, you can also understand what factors affect your reproductive health. Thus, keep exploring and find unique treatments to enter the dream of parenthood over 40s.
Factors Affecting Egg Quality After 40
Frequent miscarriages, irregular menstrual cycles, and difficulties during conception are some important symptoms of poor egg quality.
Egg quality is nothing but the genetic health of an egg, so if it is chromosomally normal, your egg quality is good. Otherwise, you can consider it as abnormal.
Many reasons are available for abnormal or diminished eggs in women. These factors can be external and internal; women over 35 face many challenges in conception.
Other than age, lifestyle changes, and habits like smoking or drinking alcohol, there are medical factors also influencing egg quality. They are,
Ovarian Reserve
Women are born with a fixed number of eggs, which their bodies start releasing from puberty. So, the ovarian reserve starts decreasing around the late 30s.
As a woman ages, her eggs are more likely to exhibit suboptimal physical characteristics and chromosomal abnormalities. Consequently, fertility success rates vary based on a woman’s age, leading to an increased risk of miscarriages and difficulties in conception.
In other cases, some women are born with diminished ovarian reserve. So, there will be fewer chances for pregnancy, especially when the age reduces.
Oxidative Stress
This condition indicates the antioxidant levels are low in your body. Lifestyle changes and food habits are the most important reasons for reducing antioxidants. Decreasing the high-fat and high-carbohydrate items in your diet can effectively reduce oxidative stress.
This is also an important factor influencing egg quality over 40. Avoid processed foods, packaged items, canned products, and high-sugar carbonated drinks to maintain better reproductive health even after 30s.
Endometriosis
Endometriosis, familiarly known as Chocolate cyst. This is one of the important causes of poor egg quality because it forms scar tissue in various parts of the reproductive tract.
The developed scar tissue disturbs the normal blood flow and oxygen supply to or within the ovaries. Resulting in poor egg maturation and quality.
Some data state this condition can also severely impact the in vitro fertilization success rate. In that case, timely focus and immediate treatment becomes mandatory for endometriosis.
Medical history
Unfortunately, some medical issues can be the reason for poor egg quality and difficulties in conception.
For example, if a woman is undergoing cancer treatment, then the chemotherapy and radiation process can destroy the eggs and decrease the egg quality. In this case, doctors suggest the patients freeze their eggs to undergo IVF treatments in the future.
Other than cancer, PCOS can affect egg quality, but focusing on a healthy diet while managing PCOS can help improve overall health. Other conditions such as autoimmune disorders, pelvic inflammatory diseases, primary ovarian insufficiency, obesity, and thyroid disorders (both hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism) can also impact reproductive health.
Pathophysiology
Pathophysiology means the physiology of abnormal states, indicating the functional changes accompanying a particular disease. Here, the oocyte quality and quantity diminishes over a certain age.
Some important reasons are DNA damage, genetic mutations, ovarian fibroids and inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and chromosome missegregation.
Consulting a fertility specialist is the only way to overcome these medical factors. They can suggest alternate solutions like assisted infertility treatments to improve the chances of conception.
Way to Improve Egg Quality Over 40
Hope you understand the factors influencing egg quality. Here are some simple suggestions to improve egg quality over 40, promoting good health and reducing medical treatments.
Sleep: Quality sleep is the first step for anyone who wants good health. So, follow a healthy diet plan, cut down screen time before bed, and work on improving melatonin. This hormone promotes the quality and quantity of embryos and oocytes in women.
Nutrition: Women over 40 who wish to improve their egg quality and conception chances can include these nutrients, vitamins, and minerals in their daily diet. It includes Fish Oil (omega-3), CoQ10 (Co-Enzyme), vitamin E, Folate, Zinc, calcium, selenium, vitamins B12, A, C, D, and B6, and fibre.
Foods: Brown rice, oats, wholemeal bread, broccoli, salmon, brazil nuts, avocados, dry fruits, different types of berries, spinach, pomegranate, beetroots, apples, lentils, beans, pumpkin and sesame seeds, healthy fats like coconut oil, almond oil, and sesame oil are the best food items to improve egg quality and reproductive health.
Stress Management and Work-Life Balance: These are the most important factors in improving egg quality because a sedentary lifestyle is emerging as the essential cause of diminished reproductive health.
Practice habits like yoga, meditation, mindfulness techniques, walking, exercises, reading, spending quality time with loved ones, and other stress-reduction methods to manage work pressure.
Follow these tips to enhance the quality of the egg even after 40 years and get successful pregnancy outcomes. Instead of trying these habits in your 30s, include them in your early or late 20s for improved benefits.
Treatment Approaches for Low Egg Quality
Low egg quality conditions can also be treated successfully with these methods to enhance the success of conception and pregnancy outcomes.
IVF with PGT
Assisted Reproductive Techniques are popular choices to get pregnant even after cancer treatments and some specific medical conditions. In vitro fertilization helps women over 40 to conceive with donor eggs.
Plus, the fertilized embryo also undergoes Preimplantation genetic testing. So that doctors could easily identify the good quality eggs without any chromosomal abnormalities and proceed with further steps.
Hence, IVF treatment is the best treatment for women over 40 with low egg quality.
Hormone Therapeutics
Hormonal imbalances are also an essential reason for low egg quality and difficulties in conceiving. Doctors recommend hormone therapy to improve the egg quality. They offer supplements and hormone medications which will enhance your reproductive health.
IVF with Donor or Frozen Eggs
Another essential treatment for low-quality eggs is using frozen or donor eggs. As mentioned above, doctors suggest freezing the cancer patient’s eggs before undergoing radiation and chemotherapy.
Frozen eggs help a woman if she chooses IVF treatment. On the other side, women over 40 can also choose IVF with donor eggs to get better pregnancy outcomes.
Conclusion
This is how every woman can effectively improve their egg quality, reproductive health, and success rate of conception. You can try these tips at home to witness step-by-step changes in your body or directly consult a doctor.
Fertility specialists analyze your health completely and provide a curated treatment according to your ovarian reserve and reproductive health. So remember, improving your egg quality is possible if you follow better lifestyle habits, the right treatments, and the doctor’s advice.
FAQs
As per the resources, the quality of eggs may not be enough to achieve a successful pregnancy after a certain age. Some resources state that a woman’s fertility starts declining after 5 to 10 years before menopause.
In common, many women begin to experience infertility problems in their mid-40s. So, the probability of high-quality eggs at 45 can be less.
Yes, following a proper plan for a month helps you witness some notable improvements. Continuing it for two to four months is quite enough to enhance the egg quality.
Unfortunately, no kit is available to test the egg quality at home. Women can only use ovulation predictor kits and follicle-stimulating hormone FSH tests at home to analyze the ovulation phase (when an egg is released).
