Fertility for Over 40s

• Embryo quality - Many IVF treatments are unsuccessful as the embryos fail to implant or the pregnancy ends in spontaneous miscarriage. The reason for this is that many of the transferred embryos are not chromosomally normal.  Research suggests that more than 50% of human eggs have chromosomal problems and that this increases with age, so it’s likely to be the main reason older patients have fewer chromosomally normal embryos.

• Successful selection of the chromosomally normal embryos. We use our own Caremaps embryo selection technique, or we can also use pre-implantation genetic testing (PGT-A) to identify the embryos with the highest potential for success

• The receptivity and health of the endometrium. The uterine lining must be receptive to embryo implantation. When transferring an embryo, the endometrium must be in a receptive state to allow successful implantation - this period of receptivity is called the window of implantation, and it varies between different people. We can test to assess both endometrial health and the best time for embryo transfer

When you are considering fertility treatment, we will be completely open and realistic with you about which of our treatments offer you the best chance of success and what your own individual chances of success are. We will only recommend treatment that suits your needs, with complete transparency at all times.

Women over 40 have fewer eggs in their ovaries which means fewer embryos will be created. This, combined with diminishing quality of the eggs, leads to lower IVF success rates. We advise caution attempting IVF with your own eggs because of the lower chances of success.

Use of donor eggs gives a much more realistic chance of having a baby as egg donors are younger than 35, and the chances of successful treatment are higher.