Boston Globe Examines Debate Over Age Limitations for Pregnancy, Fertility Treatment

Main Category: Fertility
Article Date: 12 Apr 2005 - 3:00 PDT

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The Boston Globe on Tuesday examined the ongoing debate in the United States regarding the age at which a woman is "too old" to become pregnant and give birth. Ten years after the first post-menopausal woman gave birth with the assistance of fertility treatment, physicians, ethicists and psychologists do not agree at what age a woman is "too old to become a mother," the Globe reports. In 2002, more than 5,000 U.S. women in their late 40s and 286 women in their early 50s gave birth, according to the Globe. However, the "rights and wrongs" of assisting with these pregnancies remains "under live discussion," the Globe reports. Although pregnancies become increasingly risky the older the woman is -- regardless of whether she becomes pregnant using donor eggs -- physicians and clinics have differing opinions about what constitutes an appropriate level of risk for women and their infants, according to the Globe (Goldberg, Boston Globe, 4/5). The complete article is available online.

"Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork.org kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/repro The Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

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