Fertility & IVF Experts: Don't Bet All On Late Motherhood

Main Category: Fertility
Also Included In: Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 26 Jan 2007 - 0:00 PDT

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In the wake of a new record for becoming the world's oldest mother, fertility experts are encouraged by recent research showing that older moms are as capable of good parenting as younger women -- but are increasingly concerned about women naively postponing pregnancy till later in life.

"Thanks to technology and the improved health of today's 40- and 50-year-olds, it is more possible than ever to facilitate their desires for pregnancy," said Dr. Ramie Hinckley of Reproductive Science Center of the Bay Area, in vitro fertilization (IVF) specialist. "But no one should take that as reason enough to put off giving birth past the normal reproductive years."

Women's focus on career development -- combined with advances in fertility medicine -- has produced higher-than-ever increases in the birth rates for older mothers. The birth rate for American women aged 40-44 years has more than doubled in the last 25 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control, a greater increase than in any other age group.

But there is a down side, Dr. Hinckley said: "The media spotlight on women giving birth in their 50s and 60s, especially among celebrities, can create the fallacy that there is no ticking clock and ultimately create heartache for women who wait too long to try to conceive."

In December, a 67-year-old Spanish woman became the world's oldest mother, after having undergone IVF in the United States. Meanwhile, results of a study announced in October by University of Southern California researchers showed that women in their 50s and 60s are just as capable of being good parents as women in their 30s and 40s. The research was based on the mental and physical health of 150 women, a third of whom had become parents in their 50s after receiving IVF with donor eggs.

In accordance with American Society for Reproductive Medicine guidelines, the age limit for women who seek fertility treatment at RSC is currently 51 (52 for a gestational carrier). Fertility decline begins at age 28. Although women older than 35 run greater risk of complications during pregnancy and delivery, the study clearly states that once their children are born, older women are just as good at raising them.

The study also reinforces the use of assisted reproductive technology such as egg freezing for those who wish to begin parenting later in life. In just the last year, scientists at RSC have begun offering such "egg banking" to qualified patients for fertility preservation.

About Reproductive Science Center

Established in 1983, the Reproductive Science Center of the San Francisco Bay Area was one of the earliest IVF facilities in the United States, begun just two years after the nation's first successful IVF treatment. RSC was among the first in the United States to report a successful pregnancy from an egg donated from one woman to another for gestation and delivery, and was also responsible for the nation's second successful transfer of a previously frozen embryo into a mother's uterus. Today, RSC boasts a staff of six infertility physicians with a collective 85 years' experience with offices in San Ramon, Orinda, San Jose, Fremont, Modesto, Brentwood, and Monterey. RSC is a member of IntegraMed, a national network of 30 fertility centers in 95 locations across the United States. One of every five IVF procedures in the United States is performed in an IntegraMed practice. For more information, visit http://www.rscbayarea.com.

Reproductive Science Center of the Bay Area
http://www.rscbayarea.com

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