Getting pregnant is something most women spend a large part of their lives trying to avoid. Either you’re too young, too poor, with the wrong man or busy concentrating on your career.
But if you’re reading this and you’re thinking about trying for a baby, then here’s some food for thought. A new study by scientists at the Semmelweis University in Hungary have discovered a nine-year “Goldilocks zone” when the time is biologically right for a woman to concieve.
It’s when the stars (well, our cells, I guess) align and create the perfect conditions for a healthy bouncing baby to arrive. Except, as many of us know, life doesn’t always work out that way…
The ‘Goldilocks zone’ – the perfect time when it come to getting pregnant
The nine years – between the ages of 23 and 32 – have been proven to be the safest time to have a baby. These nine years will be when the risk of birth defects are at their lowest, and it has some crossover with the years that women are most fertile.
Overall, the study found that the risk of birth defects increased by about a fifth for births in women under the age of 22. This is compared to those within the ideal childbearing window of 23 to 32.
That risk increased by about 15% in women above the age of 32. Meanwhile, women who get pregnant and give birth beyond age 35 typically have more dangerous pregnancies. Older mothers may be at increased risk of miscarriage, high blood pressure, gestational diabetes and a difficult labour. That’s if they even get pregnant at all… And, sadly, I’m speaking from experience.
As horrible as the phrase is, the clock really is ticking…
A woman’s peak reproductive years are between their late teens and their late twenties. After that, things start taking a nosedive. According to the British Fertility Society, girls are born with a fixed number of immature eggs in their ovaries. An interesting fact that I didn’t know before I looked into my own fertility.
At every menstrual cycle, one of the immature eggs will mature and be released during ovulation. The eggs that are not released die and get re-absorbed into the body. So once they’re gone, they’re gone. As horrible as the phrase is, the clock really is ticking…
When does fertility start to decline?
Apparently, at birth, we have around two million eggs. By the time we reach adolescence, that number drops to 400,000 – so those teen pregnancy fears are real, ladies!
As we reach the age of 37, an average woman has 25,000 eggs left – and there is a blood test you can have done at your local hospital to test your ovarian reserve. It costs about £35.
By 45 – the age I’m at now – fertility has declined so much that getting pregnant naturally is unlikely. By the age of 50, when the menopause will most likely have hit, we’re down to just 1,000 eggs – and these are not fertile.
So while it’s too late for me, I’m hoping that this new research on the “Goldilocks zone” can help some women who want to start a family at some point.
I wish I knew then what I know now
Now I know that in this day and age women want to do it all – I wanted a career, I wanted to wait till I met the right man, until I was financially stable. And I honestly don’t regret any of that. I have a lovely life. But I just wish I knew then what I knew now. Education is key.
I always thought I’d be a mum, but sadly after years of trying and two unsuccessful rounds of IVF, it wasn’t to be. I wish I’d been taught more about fertility in school, not just how to put a condom on a banana and scare tactics about teenage pregnancies and horrific birth videos. It was enough to put me off for decades!
As well as that, I wish I’d have been given access to more information on egg freezing. And, let’s face it, we’re going to pay enough tax in our lifetimes, it should be offered on the NHS. But it isn’t, unless you have a condition that adversely affects your fertility. It costs thousands, and who can afford that?
Time to address the fertility taboo
So much information is out there about the menopause. But what about other issues facing women before they get to that age? Information that could change the entire course of their lives.
Women of child-bearing age need a Davina McCall-like advocate, someone out there shouting about fertility and falling pregnant, instead of a hush-hush “I’m having IVF” told to a select group of family and friends who you swear to secrecy.
Fertility shouldn’t be a taboo subject, but in my experience it is. Hopefully studies like this one in Hungary will start a conversation and enable more women desperate to become mothers to start their own families.
It’s time to educate yourselves ladies, and spread the word.
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