The average age of American women deciding to give birth to their first child is 26.7 years. In New York, they become mothers even later — on average, at 28.5 years. Representatives of the fair sex are no longer in a hurry to start a family, preferring the development of business, career, and motherhood issues are trying to postpone. But does the female body agree with such attitudes and what are the chances of getting pregnant after 30? The gynecologist listed the factors affecting female fertility and told about the possibilities of its preservation.
What is female fertility?
The term has a Latin origin – “fertilis”, which means fertile, fertile. That is, fertility is the ability to conceive, bear and give birth to healthy offspring.
Is it true that fertility is divided into low, normal and high?
Yes, although the division is very conditional:
Low fertility is the inability of a woman to conceive and/or give birth to a healthy child without medical care.
Normal fertility is the ability to get pregnant on your own, to carry and give birth to a healthy child without medical care.
High fertility is the ability to get pregnant independently and give birth several times in a short period of time, as conceived by nature. In this case, the woman does not even need clomid to stimulate ovulation.
Chances of getting pregnant. Factors affecting fertility
Age
By the 20th week of intrauterine development, there are about 7 million immature germ cells in the girl’s ovaries. By the time of the onset of the first menstruation, only 300-400 thousand eggs remain under the influence of strong hormonal changes.
Do you think that every month in case of non-pregnancy you lose only 1 egg? That’s not so. The processes of death of follicles (structural components of the ovary, consisting of an egg and its “environment”) occur constantly under the influence of various factors, especially stressful.
Usually, fertility decreases after 30-35 years: at this time, the number of follicles not only significantly decreases, tending to 25 thousand, but also the rate of their disappearance increases and the quality of the oocytes themselves (immature eggs located in the ovary, from which mature ones are subsequently formed) significantly deteriorates.
Weight
Adipose tissue is an endocrine organ that has a hormonal function. Insufficient or excessive accumulation of estrogens in adipose tissue can cause ovulation block, menstrual cycle failure and, as a consequence, the absence of a successful pregnancy.
Overweight women have a large symptom complex of pathological adaptive mechanisms that combine under one diagnosis – metabolic syndrome. All this increases the risk of infertility, polycystic ovary syndrome, hyperandrogenism and miscarriages in the first trimester. During pregnancy, such women have a higher risk of diabetes in pregnant women, increased blood pressure and the development of preeclampsia (pregnancy complication), and the risk of operative delivery (cesarean section) is also higher.
With a lack of body weight, the body experiences extreme stress and directs all its efforts to survival, not to maintain reproductive function. That is why skinny girls, as a rule, do not have menstruation or they manifest themselves with very scanty secretions. Problems with menstruation indicate a low reproductive capacity.
Excessive physical activity
Naturally, physical activity is useful. But the good thing is that in moderation. Any intensive training puts an excessive load on the adrenal glands, so stress hormones are released: adrenaline and norepinephrine, and a cascade of biochemical reactions is triggered that increases androgens in the blood, which, in turn, can lead to ovulation block.
The lack of physical activity leads to stagnation of blood in the pelvis, lymphostasis, which means that the metabolism in the reproductive organs worsens and their nutrition is disrupted.
Chances of getting pregnant: sleep
Sleep is very important for women’s health. The production of melatonin, responsible for reparative processes in the body, the development of immunity, the restoration of basic biochemical processes, falls precisely at night.
Sex
During intimacy, a lot of blood flows to the pelvic organs, a generous cocktail of hormones and neurotransmitters is thrown into the blood, undoubtedly, this has a beneficial effect on fertility. Having an orgasm, achieving peak pleasure is a real medicine that prolongs female youth and increases the chances of successful conception.
We will not mention such obvious things as smoking or alcohol. They negatively affect fertility, ovulation and significantly reduce the chances of getting pregnant.
What affects the reduction of follicular reserve?
- bad habits (sedentary lifestyle, non-compliance with work and rest, smoking, abuse of harmful foods);
- ecology, electromagnetic radiation (I hope you don’t carry a mobile phone in your pants pockets and don’t put a laptop on the pelvic area);
- chronic stress;
- ovarian surgery (in particular, resection);
- autoimmune diseases;
- genetic features;
- chronic inflammatory diseases of the pelvic organs;