Question for the 35 and over Moms or Moms-to-be

I'm 39 and worried that I don't have many eggs left. What are your changes @ 39 to get PG? Am I going to have a really hard time and be trying for months? I have so much stress and anxiety over this. Some advise would be great or links to information. Thanks ladies!

Re: Question for the 35 and over Moms or Moms-to-be

I am 35. I have had problems my entire life with irregular periods, no periods, this that, etc.
I thought for sure I was infertile.
I really just thought it would take us years to get pregnant.
At the same time I wasn't ready for a baby until 35 so we didn't start trying until then.

I figured- yeah, we'll start tryiing. It will take at least a year- and I'll have time to get used to the idea.
Well guess what? Pregnant on the FIRST TRY!
You could have knocked me over with a feather! Never in a MILLION years would I have thought it.

I know plenty of women who got pregnant easily into their 40's.

Bottom line- everyone is different.
You can have fertility issues in your 20's or 40's.
Or it can happen super easy no matter what your age.

Don't stress over it until you know it's an issue.

You might just surprise yourself!

Re: Question for the 35 and over Moms or Moms-to-be

Thank you. I have always had regular periods and never missed one. So I guess I have that on my side. Your right everyone is different. It just makes it more stressful to walk into this process.

Re: Question for the 35 and over Moms or Moms-to-be

Posted by JldDolphin

Thank you. I have always had regular periods and never missed one. So I guess I have that on my side. Your right everyone is different. It just makes it more stressful to walk into this process.

Re: Question for the 35 and over Moms or Moms-to-be

I'm 35 and also got PG on my first try.

But, again, everyone's body is different.

Good luck!

Re: Question for the 35 and over Moms or Moms-to-be

I'm 38 and had perfectly normal AFs my entire life...no problems whatsoever.
It took me 4 1/2 years to get pregnant and that was after multiple IF treatments and IVFs.
You just never know. I wish I was one of the lucky ones who got pregnant right away. For us it was really a struggle...and we started trying before I was 35.

Re: Question for the 35 and over Moms or Moms-to-be

Re: Question for the 35 and over Moms or Moms-to-be

Re: Question for the 35 and over Moms or Moms-to-be

Posted by JldDolphin

Posted by NervousNell
It does, but keep the faith.
Things have a way of working out the way they are supposed to.
I never thought I would be pregnant so fast and to be honest it scared the living sh!t out of me because I really felt I wasn't ready.
But this baby must have been meant to be. That's how I see it.

I am like you- I worry about everything- things that haven't happened yet, things I can't control. My DH calls it "borrowing trouble" and I'm SO guilty of it.
He tells me- dont' worry about it until we know it's an issue.
And honestly- it's good advice. Hard to follow at times- but good advice.

Best of luck in your journey!

WOW, you sound just like me. "Borrowing Trouble"....I like that one. I'm so guilty of that as well. Don't worry until you have to is great advice, but very hard to follow when that is the way your brian thinks. It's hard to stop it from happening. Believe me, very hard to stop. FM me if you ever want to talk.

Re: Question for the 35 and over Moms or Moms-to-be

I'm not in that age group (just below it) but to relate the story of my own mother--

She was on BC for 10+ years, and within a year of coming off, she became pregnant with me, at the age of 36. She had my sister at 39, and my bother at 41. I am the eldest. All of us were healthy babies and now healthy adults.

There is hope (lots of it), so until you are trying and trying and trying and nothing is happening, don't worry about what isn't a problem and might never be.

Re: Question for the 35 and over Moms or Moms-to-be

hey I was 40 when we got married and we had an "oops" so in our case it didn't take long AT ALL!!!!! I thought I had the flu we never sat down and discussed a honeymoon baby, but that's what happened, and I had an easy PG as well!!!! The statistics are ALL over the place on this, but to be honest it's hard to generalize; yes, the % of IF goes up after 35 but I know plenty of under 30s who had terrible difficulty conceiving as well Equally I know plenty of 35+ ladies who had NO trouble...
The one thing I would advise though is to limit the time you spend trying the old fashioned way; I think in our age range 3 months to 6 months is standard (whereas for younger ladies it's more like 6mo to 1 year). If no results within that 3 months, I'd be heading to an RE or IF specialist!!!
Good luck and baby dust If and when it happens, this is one baby nursery I'll be DYING to see!!!!!!!!

Re: Question for the 35 and over Moms or Moms-to-be

Re: Question for the 35 and over Moms or Moms-to-be

Hey Jen I got pregnant for the first time at 36 the 2nd month trying & then at 38 again our 2nd month. Not sure if we'll have a 3rd, but if so I'll be 40...

fm me if you have any q's. Good luck!

Re: Question for the 35 and over Moms or Moms-to-be

I had just turned 37 when I got PG with DS.

I never had issues with AF. I was very regular. 26 day cycles.

I got PG on our second month trying. But I was also not on the pill for 2 years prior to it.

At 39, I got PG again on our 3rd month trying. I had a very early m/c.

Now at 40, AF is playing tricks a bit. I got by wave of 3 months when it will be 26 days, then 22 days, then back to 28 days.

Re: Question for the 35 and over Moms or Moms-to-be

we didn't start trying until i was 34 and it took us 6 months to conceive. when we went for genetic testing, they said my "numbers" were that of someone much younger, so that was comforting for our next try since i'll probably be over 37 next time.

Re: Question for the 35 and over Moms or Moms-to-be

It took us nearly 3 years to get pregnant. i am 38. Not only do you have to worry about egg quantity, but egg quality. As you get older the quality of your eggs decreases which is why there is a higher incidence of miscarriage and chromosomal issues. DH and I did PGD with IVF and found out my egg quality was poor. Unfortunately, it isnt until you try to get pregnant that you realize that you have issues.

Re: Question for the 35 and over Moms or Moms-to-be

I am 39 years old (will be 40 in a couple of months) and just had my baby girl in December. We did not need any help getting pregnant - We did it the old fashioned way - however, I did track my periods on fertilityfriend.com and bought the clearblue easy fertility monitor to make sure I knew exactly when I was fertile. I was SURE it was going to take us forever which is why I started doing those things. My periods were always regular and I could feel when I was ovulating. We decided to start trying right after my period last January and I found out I was pregnant in May! And I have a BEAUTIFUL girl! Anything is possible. FM if you have any questions. We were scared of the idea of changing our lives with a baby but I don't have any regrets now.

Re: Question for the 35 and over Moms or Moms-to-be

I started trying when I was 31 and ended up having my babies via IVF when I was 34. I got pregnant very easily multiple times but lost the pregnancies, we think, due to tubal issues. I always had normal cycles.

You could buy one of those fertility tests at the drugstore. It should be taken on day 3 of your cycle. I have never done them but have heard that they work. Or you could aks your Dr to check your Day 3 fsh-that will give you some indication of your ovarian reserve.

Re: Question for the 35 and over Moms or Moms-to-be

I think every woman's body is different. It took me 2 years to get pregnant when I was 34 and I needed treatment. But then when I was 37, I got pregnant the first month we tried naturally! My obgyn told me that a LOT of his pregnant patients are older than I am.

Re: Question for the 35 and over Moms or Moms-to-be

Posted by colette

hey I was 40 when we got married and we had an "oops" so in our case it didn't take long AT ALL!!!!! I thought I had the flu we never sat down and discussed a honeymoon baby, but that's what happened, and I had an easy PG as well!!!! The statistics are ALL over the place on this, but to be honest it's hard to generalize; yes, the % of IF goes up after 35 but I know plenty of under 30s who had terrible difficulty conceiving as well Equally I know plenty of 35+ ladies who had NO trouble...
The one thing I would advise though is to limit the time you spend trying the old fashioned way; I think in our age range 3 months to 6 months is standard (whereas for younger ladies it's more like 6mo to 1 year). If no results within that 3 months, I'd be heading to an RE or IF specialist!!!
Good luck and baby dust If and when it happens, this is one baby nursery I'll be DYING to see!!!!!!!!

Re: Question for the 35 and over Moms or Moms-to-be

Thank you all for your information/stories. I know we have to start trying soon. Now if you will all just wish away my anxiety.

I hope to be on this board soon.

Re: Question for the 35 and over Moms or Moms-to-be

There is a simple blood test you can take that is an indicator of how many eggs you have left.

Day 3 FSH test

Why don't you have this done? It's just an indicator, but it can be very helpful.

I had some issues with my ovaries and had surgery when I was 19. I was always told that I probably wouldn't be able to have children. I was told it so much that I told my boyfriend (now DH) once we got serious that we may not be able to have DC and if that was issue than maybe we shouldn't continue our relationship.

We started trying for my first DC at 34 and it took us awhile. We did the FSH test relatively early and were able to rule that out as the reason. So good results won't guarantee that you will get pregnant easily, but if they are low you may want to talk to your gyn about what you can do.

Just for the record, even though the first pregnancy took a long time, my seond DC was an oops and happened when DD was only 9 months old So who knows!!!

Good luck

Re: Question for the 35 and over Moms or Moms-to-be

I was just reading an article the other day that was very discouraging for woman over 30 actually.

I was 33 when I delivered DD#1. It took 6 months to conceive. When I delivered her via C-section they discovered I only had 1 ovary. That explained a lifetime of weird cycles

With #2 we tried for 14 months on our own and then consulted an RE. I got pregnant on our first medicated IUI. I was 35 when we conceived this time.

My suggestion is try on your own for a few months. If nothing happens go see your ob or an RE to check things out.

Good Luck!!

Re: Question for the 35 and over Moms or Moms-to-be

I was 35 when I got pregnant in Septemeber 2008- first try!
I miscarried at around 10 weeks and asked my doctor how long I should wait if I wanted to try again. He said I should wait one cycle (if I felt mentally ok with it -physically he said that was fine.)

I got my period and about 2 weeks later, one try again and BAM!!! (no testing or timing or anything really aside from I guessed somewhere around 2 weeks after AF I would ovulate)

My beautiful little guy is 5 months old today.

But then my SIL who is about 5 years younger then me was trying for a while before going to a fertility specialist and she was only around 29. It probably took her around a year to conceive. So you never really know. Everyone is different.

Best of luck to you!!!

Re: Question for the 35 and over Moms or Moms-to-be

I was 39 with my first pregnancy. I got pregnant the first month of trying, but miscarried. I waited 2 full cycles to try again and got pregnant again right away.

I know a lot of people do have trouble conceiving without infertility treatments, but that isn't true for everyone. Be prepared to be pregnant if you start trying.