Conceiving in your 40s
At age 40, even healthy, fit women have less than a 5% chance of getting pregnant each month. As you age, your eggs are more likely to have genetic abnormalities that make it difficult to conceive, increase miscarriage risk, and raise the odds of having a child with a genetic condition such as Down syndrome. This is why our Las Vegas fertility doctors recommend that if you’re trying to conceive (TTC) in your 40s, it’s extremely important to see a fertility specialist immediately, rather than continuing to try on your own for months or years.
A few women in their early 40s may be able to conceive with their own eggs, by using IVF with preimplantation genetic testing. However, frequently this aggressive type of IVF does not work, and patients need to use eggs from a younger, healthy donor. After age 42, most women who are trying to conceive do so using IVF with donor eggs.