My girls are getting older and so am I, but this doesn’t stop people from constantly asking me if I am going to have more kids. My girls are now 10 and almost 9. I had them in my early/ mid-twenties which I thought was a fairly normal time to have kids but it seems that people are having kids later in life now. I hadn’t really thought about having more kids but as I approach an age where0 I might be too old it is starting to play on my mind more.
Next year I will be 35 which means my chances of becoming pregnant naturally with no help is decreasing rapidly each year. I only have a small percentage of my eggs left and as each month passes these decrease.
It is a little bit scary to think that I might be too old to have more kids without an intervention so what would be my options if I was infertile?
Medical Intervention
Infertility can sometimes be caused by the lack of ovulation, without the egg being released there is no chance of becoming pregnant. There are medicines that you can take to help with this.
Surgical Procedures
If infertility is caused by endometriosis, blocked fallopian tubes or similar then a surgical procedure could be the answer.
IUI – intrauterine insemination
Intrauterine insemination is when sperm is directly inserted into the womb. This doesn’t always guarantee fertilisation. This is only an option if the woman’s fallopian tubes are healthy.
IVF – In Vitro Fertilisation
IVF is usually used if there is a quality or quantity issue with the male’s sperm but it can also be used if you need to make use of a donor egg. The egg is fertilised outside of the body before being implanted into the woman’s uterus.
None of these treatment options is a foolproof method of conceiving and the chances also decrease as you get older. My friend recently began IVF treatment using a sperm donor which got me thinking how do they collect sperm at a sperm bank? To be fair I don’t want to imagine it too much and I am not sure my husband would be happy with the whole situation although egg harvesting does not sound easy either.
I think that our family is all too old to consider adding more kids but if you want to grow your family and you are suffering from infertility then why not take a look at the NHS website.
My sister struggled to get pregnant all through her 30’s and fell pregnant naturally at 41. You’re definitely not too old. Go for it! x
As someone who turns 40 next month and is currently pregnant (naturally) with my third I’d definitely say that it’s not too late. But at the same time I will say that pregnancy is definitely harder this time around!