Women 6 more times likely to suffer fertility problems at age 35 than 25

Doctors have issued a stark warning to couples not to leave it too late to try for a baby.
With more and more women pursuing careers, they and their partners are leaving parenthood to at least their late thirties.

But women aged 35 are six times more likely to have problems conceiving compared to those ten years younger, warns a major study from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. The report says older parents are making it harder for themselves to have children – and increasing the likelihood of serious medical complications for both mother and baby. By the age of 40, a woman is more likely to have a miscarriage than give birth.

Men’s fertility also declines rapidly from the age of 25 and the doctors estimate that the average 40-year-old takes two years to get his partner pregnant – even if she is in her twenties. The report is a clear and authoritative wake-up call on the dangers of late parenthood. However, increasing numbers of couples are doing just that without properly understanding the consequences – and the risks.

Separate figures show that the number of mothers giving birth after their 40th birthday has trebled in the last 20 years. Almost 27,000 babies were born to mothers over 40 last year compared to with 9,336 in 1989. The doctors insist women should be given clear reminders that ‘the most secure age for childbearing remains 20 to 35’.

Up to 30 per cent of 35-year-olds take longer than a year to get pregnant, compared to only 5 per cent of 25-year-olds, according to the figures in the report by the Royal College. The research, which looked at several major studies on fertility, also shows that the average childbearing age has risen from 23 in 1968 to 29.3 today.

Expectant mothers in their late thirties and forties are far more likely to suffer complications such as pre-eclampsia, ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage or stillbirth and they are also more likely to need a Caesarean. Babies born to them are more likely to be premature, smaller or have Down’s Syndrome and other genetic disorders.

Doctors warn that government campaigns to cut teenage pregnancy and boost contraception uptake may have resulted in young people thinking they can delay parenthood indefinitely. They also say that IVF has given women a ‘false sense of security’, despite major breakthroughs in recent years.

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