Reply to What is the 5% chance at 42 based on?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote]So according to this, about 1% of women 40-44 will have a child in any given year. If 5% rate of conception were correct, that would mean that 20% of women 40-44 are trying to conceive. I don't think that is true.[/quote]
Maybe they weren't "trying to conceive" so much as "not doing anything to actively prevent conception." A lot of women think once they reach a certain age they no longer need to worry about protection, and whoops! And of course, women who are actively seeking fertility treatment are in that stat, too.

[quote]OP here. Also, can someone tell me more about ovarian reserve testing? Shouldn't this be done first before telling someone you only have a 5% chance of carrying a baby to term? I had first baby at 38 and second at 39. It's so hard to believe that my eggs are not good enough anymore. Clearly, I am in denial about being 42 and what that means with regards to fertility![/quote]
Well, maybe a little bit in denial :) Decline in fertility isn't perfectly linear; it grows much steeper in one's 40s, on average. Your eggs were different at age 39 than they are at 42, even though that doesn't seem so long ago. But if you have a good ovarian reserve, that is absolutely a point in your favor. It means that maybe you have more good eggs than the average woman might at your age. That may balance out the majority of abnormal eggs that most women have at this age.

Honestly, though, unless you're planning to go back to this doctor, who cares about the stats? Just continue having sex during your fertile times and hope for the best!

[quote]I am also getting increasingly angry when those rates are quoted by my RE. Oh, really, I am 39? Thanks for the news. Now please explain why I am paying you $$$ if you can't do anything about it.[/quote]
I understand this anger -- I feel it. But there's only so much that can be done to turn back the clock. (I'm 40, by the way) I feel great, I look young on the outside, but my ovaries are the ovaries of a 40-year-old. I did IVF at 40 and got 11 eggs and thought that was great, but I read about women just a few years younger than me getting 20+ eggs and ending up with blasts frozen and I just wish I had started sooner. Oh well.[/quote]

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