Women over 40 warned that IVF will not rewind their biological clock

Women in their 40s expect fertility treatment to rewind their ‘biological clock’, and are upset when they find out they can’t have babies, warns a top fertility specialist.
Demand for IVF from older women is rising dramatically, but they don’t realise the chances of success are limited, said Pasquale Patrizio, of the Yale Fertility Center in the U.S. He said the latest research showed success rates for women aged 42 and over had stayed static at less than 10 per cent.

Even if a woman conceives, being older makes it less likely a live baby will be born and pushes up the risk of abnormalities. Professor Patrizio said: ‘There is an alarming misconception about fertility among women. As clinicians, we should begin educating women more aggressively.’

He and his colleagues have noticed more women coming to their fertility clinic at age 43 or older, expecting that pregnancy can be instantly achieved. He added: ‘We are really seeing more and more patients upset after failing in having their own biological child after age 43 so we had to report on this.

‘Their typical reaction is, “what do you mean you cannot help me? I am healthy, I exercise, and I cannot have my own baby?’’’ The latest report comes as UK figures show 40-somethings are becoming pregnant at more than double the rate of two decades ago.

But there is growing concern among British doctors over the ‘epidemic of pregnancy’ in women in middle age. Some of the country’s leading fertility specialists have warned that women who put off having children are ‘defying nature’ and risk never becoming mothers.

The Yale researchers said women who delayed pregnancies in their most fertile years were ‘vaguely aware’ that fertility decreased with age, but only when they experienced age-related infertility first-hand did they begin to understand the reality of their situation.

Britain's oldest first time mum: Sue Tollefsen says she made a mistake in waiting until she was 57 to give birth to daughter Freya. The growing popularity of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) has given women the impression that female fertility may be manipulated at any stage in life, and the problem is made worse by images of celebrities who seem to effortlessly give birth at advanced ages, said Professor Patrizio. U.S. figures show the number of IVF cycles performed between 2003 and 2009 for women aged over 40 increased by 41 per cent – four times as fast as for women aged under 35.

Professor Patrizio said: ‘Even though the number of women turning to ART has increased, the number of IVF cycles resulting in pregnancy in women above age 42 has mostly remained static at 9 per cent.

‘If pregnancy is achieved at an older age, women then face higher risk of pregnancy loss, birth defects, and other complications. ‘Women should be given the appropriate information about postponing fertility, obstetric risks, and the limited success of ART in advanced age to allow them to make informed decisions about when, if at all, they hope to become pregnant.’ Professor Patrizio said women should take advantage of egg-freezing if they wanted to postpone motherhood.

Alternative options such as egg donation, which leads to the highest pregnancy rates reported for any type of fertility treatment, are also available. He added: ‘There is an urgent need to educate women that reproductive ageing is irreversible and, more importantly that there are options to safeguard against the risk of future infertility.’

Last month, Britain’s oldest first-time mother, Sue Tollefsen, admitted she had made a mistake in waiting until she was 57. She regretted not having a baby earlier because she might not be around to see her daughter grow up.

Article: 6th April 2012 www.dailymail.co.uk

Cut price IVF test improves chances of a healthy baby

A cut-price test that could dramatically increase the chances of having a healthy baby through IVF could be available within 18 months. Oxford University researchers say their test could ‘revolutionise’ the treatment as it is half the price of existing tests and may be just as effective.

It may be cheap enough for use by the Health Service. And, unlike existing tests, it does not involve the potentially risky step of taking a sample of cells from the egg or fledgling embryo, making it safer and more ethically acceptable.

Instead, it works by analysing a ‘cloud’ of cells that nurture and feed the egg. These are normally thrown away in IVF treatment but fertility doctors Dagan Wells and Elpida Fragouli believe they hold important clues to the health of the egg.

Keeping and analysing these cells could help clinics select the best eggs for fertility treatment. It should also spare would-be parents the emotional and financial heartache of going through repeated unsuccessful IVF treatments. Analysing these ‘cloud’, or cumulous, cells is also likely to be much cheaper at £1,000 or less compared with the £2,000 cost of other techniques, bringing the technology within range of many more couples.

Despite IVF’s reputation as an insurance policy, the treatment works in less than a quarter of cases, and many of the failures are because of problems with the eggs’ chromosomes. There are already several ways of checking the chromosomes, but they require a small sample from the egg or embryo and so are not completely without risk to the unborn child.

The cumulous cells, however, can be studied without harming the egg. These cells grow and mature with the egg and so any problems that damage the egg, such as a poor blood supply, should also show up in the cells. The doctors have carried out a small-scale study that has shown that certain genes being over or under-active in the cumulous cells is a sign of abnormal eggs.

Calculations suggest that using the technique to pick out the healthiest eggs would boost a woman’s odds of having a baby. Existing tests can double or triple the odds of IVF success, and it is hoped the new test will be just as good.

Dr Wells said: ‘The number of patients we looked at is very small. This is very much a work in progress, but there is good reason for optimism at this point.’

A larger-scale study is planned, and if that goes well the technique could be trialled on women for the first time in the summer of 2012. If it proves to be safe and effective, it could be in widespread use early in 2013.

Article: 28th December 2011 www.dailymail.co.uk