Balancing a professional and personal life is a difficult task for any woman and a recent study that indicates fertility is decreasing at a younger age than previously thought is not making that task any easier.
Previous studies suggested that a woman's ability to conceive did not start to decline until her 30's, but a new study indicates that the decline actually begins at 27-years-old. The study even indicates that there could be up to a 50% decrease in fertility by the time a woman turns 30 years of age.
Many women, who previously didn't think they would even consider starting a family before the age of 30, have been rethinking their plans for the future.
Previous studies suggested that a woman's ability to conceive did not start to decline until her 30's, but a new study indicates that the decline actually begins at 27-years-old. The study even indicates that there could be up to a 50% decrease in fertility by the time a woman turns 30 years of age.
Many women, who previously didn't think they would even consider starting a family before the age of 30, have been rethinking their plans for the future.
"My mother didn't have me until she was 34, so I sort of imagined that's when I would start having children, but now I'm thinking that may be too late," said one 26-year-old woman.
The study was conducted by the Institute of Environmental Health Services in North Carolina and was published in the Journal of Human Reproduction. Though fertility declines are higher than previously thought the study says a woman can still conceive in her late 30's, it just may take more menstrual cycles for it to happen.
Most women are aware that fertility starts to decline with age, but most women may not be aware of when the decline starts to occur and how quickly it can affect plans to have children. Young women hear anecdotes about women having children at 40 and beyond, but the truth is those cases are the outliers.
A survey conducted by the American Infertility Association last year showed that from the over 12 thousand respondents only one was aware that fertility begins to decline before the age of 30. Almost half of the respondents thought the decline started at 40.
The survey indicates many women are overestimating the amount of time they have left on their biological clock.
The study from the EHS in North Carolina also studied male fertility. The study showed that male fertility begins to decline at 35 years of age and can be lessened by 40% by the age of 40.
Many things in life don't go as planned, and maybe any plans we set are futile, but the one thing we can control is our education. The more we know about our body and health, the better chances our plans will have to come to fruition.
I hope this article helps your plans do just that.
Article Source: Kevin P OConnor
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