Older women are today given a stark warning of the risks they face in delaying motherhood.
IVF cannot fully compensate for the loss of fertility in ageing, new research warns. Photo: GETTY
An academic journal article states that “IVF cannot compensate for delays in
childbearing” because of the biological effects of ageing.
Even women who do conceive are told they are at “substantive risk” of
suffering complications such as heart disease and even stillbirth for their
babies.
In addition, society as a whole suffers from a drop in the fertility rate as
it means fewer working-age people to support an ageing population.
The strongly worded paper in The Obstetrician & Gynaecologist concludes:
“Significant work and lifestyle changes have resulted in childbearing at
ever increasing ages, with an overall reduction in fertility rates.
“The unfortunate consequences of these choices include, most prominently,
age-related infertility, high-risk pregnancies achieved through assisted
conception and a reduced economic base to support an ageing population.”
It says “increasing public awareness of reproductive ageing must be the
priority” while scientists try to prolong the time during which women are
fertile.
Across the western world, there has been a drop in the birthrate over recent decades as women of childbearing age delayed starting families in order to further their careers and education, with many assuming that infertility treatment would allow them to have babies whenever they chose.
In the new paper, Lynne Cook and Prof Scott Nelson at Glasgow University state that in some Mediterranean countries the average number of children born to each woman is now too low (at 1.29 in Greece, for example) to “ensure the replacement of the population”.
In England and Wales the total fertility rate is back up to 2.0, the Office for National Statistics disclosed last week, putting the country in the grip of the biggest baby boom for 40 years as older women and immigrants start to have more children.
The authors say that techniques such as IVF, although expensive, can help increase the birthrate and so aid economic growth.
But they add that it is more likely to be successful in younger women, who have more egg cells remaining in their ovaries: “Consequently IVF cannot compensate for delays in childbearing.”
Egg donors are rare in Britain because they are unpaid and can later be traced by their genetic children, leading to “fertility tourism” to countries where they are given financial compensation and anonymity.
The use of egg donors and the freezing of embryos has let to a “marked extension of the reproductive period”, with more and more women having their first babies after they turn 40.
But IVF brings its own risks as it often leads to women having twins or triplets, which can cause complications in birth, as can the fact that older mothers are more likely to have high blood pressure or be obese.
Women over 35 are also far more likely to have stillbirths, and to need to have a caesarean section.
Across the western world, there has been a drop in the birthrate over recent decades as women of childbearing age delayed starting families in order to further their careers and education, with many assuming that infertility treatment would allow them to have babies whenever they chose.
In the new paper, Lynne Cook and Prof Scott Nelson at Glasgow University state that in some Mediterranean countries the average number of children born to each woman is now too low (at 1.29 in Greece, for example) to “ensure the replacement of the population”.
In England and Wales the total fertility rate is back up to 2.0, the Office for National Statistics disclosed last week, putting the country in the grip of the biggest baby boom for 40 years as older women and immigrants start to have more children.
The authors say that techniques such as IVF, although expensive, can help increase the birthrate and so aid economic growth.
But they add that it is more likely to be successful in younger women, who have more egg cells remaining in their ovaries: “Consequently IVF cannot compensate for delays in childbearing.”
Egg donors are rare in Britain because they are unpaid and can later be traced by their genetic children, leading to “fertility tourism” to countries where they are given financial compensation and anonymity.
The use of egg donors and the freezing of embryos has let to a “marked extension of the reproductive period”, with more and more women having their first babies after they turn 40.
But IVF brings its own risks as it often leads to women having twins or triplets, which can cause complications in birth, as can the fact that older mothers are more likely to have high blood pressure or be obese.
Women over 35 are also far more likely to have stillbirths, and to need to have a caesarean section.
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