Naturopathic Treatments To Get Pregnant In Your 30s Or Older (Part 1) | Dr. JJ, Naturopathic Doctor

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Fertility issues can happen at any age, regardless of your gender.

But, generally speaking, the younger you are, the more fertile you are.

As you age, you might find yourself wondering, “what if my most fertile years are behind me?”

If so, you’re not alone in wondering this.

These days, many people just aren’t in a financial position to have kids in their 20s.

Others decide to wait to get pregnant until they’re settled in their careers.

If you fall into one of these categories, you might’ve heard from well meaning friends and family that you’re missing your fertility window.

Fortunately, this isn’t necessary true.

Sure, trying for a baby in your 30s or older is sometimes more difficult than younger pregnancies.

But it’s far from impossible.

I’ve dealt with a number of patients from many different age groups over the years who have wanted help with getting pregnant naturally.

And while in the past it was difficult for women past a certain age to get pregnant, modern advances in scientific medicine have made a big difference.

For instance, at my clinic I offer intravenous therapy for fertility to help women get pregnant at many ages.

In this first installment of a two part series, I’ll explain the science behind pregnancy and why it’s a bit harder, but not impossible, to get pregnant in your mid to late 30s and beyond.

But first, let’s look at a little bit of the biology behind reproduction.

The Biology Behind It All

Women with healthy reproductive organs are born with between one and two million eggs.

Unlike men, whose reproductive organs are a veritable sperm factory, these are all the eggs you’ll ever have.

By the time you have your first period, that number will decrease significantly to around three to five hundred thousand.

And the more you ovulate, the more that supply dwindles.

That may seem like a large supply, but to put it in perspective: one egg a month means 12 eggs a year, or 120 eggs per decade.

At that rate, you could be a thousand years old and still having kids.

But the problem isn’t just supply.

A process called follicular atresia also plays a major role.

See, in your ovaries are a number of cellular aggregations called ovarian follicles.

Their job is to secrete hormones, and release an egg during your menstrual cycle.

However, these follicles gradually break down over your lifetime, restricting your ovulation possibilities to only around 400 times in your life.

But that’s not all.

As your eggs age, they become less effective.

So, while you may still have a supply of thousands of eggs by the time you reach your 40s, those eggs may no longer be capable of fertilization, and those that are may carry with them genetic defects.

According to The American College Of Obstetricians And Gynecologists, the older your eggs, the higher the risk of them having abnormal chromosomes.

As a result, the closer you are to menopause, the more difficult it is for you to bear children.

A 2010 paper published in the Journal Of Human Reproductive Sciences found that fertility generally begins to decline at the age of 32, with a dramatic fall after 37.

During your 20’s, a healthy cisgender woman has about a 25% chance of getting pregnant, but after age 35 that number drops to below 10%.

So, it’s certainly not impossible to get pregnant after the age of 35.

However, you may run into difficulty in your pursuit to do so.

So, where does this leave us?

Changing Demographics

While we can acknowledge that the best time for a woman to bear children biologically is in her early 20’s, society is no longer designed for that to be the case.

Today, more women are seeking higher education than ever before, which means many don’t even enter the labour force until their mid 20s.

And when they do, they’re loaded with student debt, to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars.

As a result, many women are delaying having children until their 30s, if at all.

A study from Statistics Canada found that the number of children per household has remained fairly stable at between 1.6 and 1.7 children per household since the 1980’s, but the average age of mothers has dramatically increased.

In 1976, for example, the average age of a mother during the birth of her child was 26, and by 2011 that age was above 30, the oldest recorded to date.

Pregnancy Problems In Your 30s And Older

Women in their 30s still have a great chance of getting pregnant.

However, fertility seems to begin declining around age 35, due to reduced egg quality.

Women in their 30s who do get pregnant are faced with an increased risk of miscarriage, Down syndrome, or other chromosomal or genetic abnormalities.

This risk increases with age beyond your 30’s.

A 2002 study in the Journal Of Medical Screening found that the risk of having a baby with Down syndrome was as follows:

Age 20: 1 in 1,441
Age 25: 1 in 1,383
Age 30: 1 in 959
Age 35: 1 in 338
Age 40: 1 in 84
Age 45: 1 in 32
Age 50: 1 in 44

Additionally, the risk of older pregnancies doesn’t just implicate the baby.

Older mothers often experience delayed lactation, for instance.

But the complications can also be more serious.

According to Yale Medicine, the risk of dying while pregnant or giving birth increases with age.

On top of this, older mothers are at higher risk of dying before their children become adults.

A 35 year old mother will be 53 years old on her child’s 18th birthday, while a 50 year old mother will be 68 at the same milestone.

What Can Be Done?

All that said, it has become possible for women to bear children much later in their life than in the past.

The Guinness Book Of Records cites Dawn Brookes as the oldest woman to ever bear a child naturally, at 59 years of age.

Obviously, this is uncommon, but with today’s technology it’s possible for women to bear children into their 40s and even their 50s.

There are a number of naturopathic fertility treatments that can be used to help women conceive children as they age and increase their chances of experiencing a healthy pregnancy.

Next time we’ll talk about some of these treatments, and how effective they’ve been in helping women conceive and bear children later in life.

Stay tuned to hear more.

Questions? Ask Dr. JJ!

If you’re struggling to become pregnant, you’re not alone.

Contact me, Dr. JJ, and let’s find out what’s holding you back.

We’ll go through a thorough analysis of both yours and your partner’s health history, uncover any roadblocks to your fertility, and build a treatment plan designed to help you bear a happy, healthy child.

Book your appointment with me, Dr. JJ, today and take a step towards building your family.

If you have questions about naturopathic medicine, or you’d like to take your first step into the world of naturopathy, contact me, Dr. JJ, and let’s book an appointment.

Yours in health,

Dr. JJ Dugoua, Naturopathic Doctor

600 Sherbourne St, Suite 315,
Toronto, ON M4X 1W4
-https://g.page/AskDrJJ

Dr. JJ Dugoua is a naturopathic doctor in Toronto and has a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences. His clinic provides solutions for many health concerns and has a special focus on thyroid health issues.