If Falling Pregnant Seems but a Fading Hope, It Helps to be Proactive
Our culture and way of life has undergone radical change in the past 50 years. Women, equipped with reliable contraception, now attend university and engage in the workforce in almost equal gender participation rates. This has opened up broader and more appealing professional choices than ever before for women, including within politics, and increasingly in demanding leadership roles. Hark back to 1970 when the average maternal age was 21, at the time of giving birth to one’s first child. Today the median age at first birth is 31. Given that there is a gradual decline in women’s fertility from age 34, this trend towards delaying family planning has had profound consequences for couples wishing to conceive.
Research shows that the commonest reason for women to delay pregnancy is the lack of a partner or more commonly, a lack of a willing partner. Men are often unaware of the impact of advancing age on their partner’s fertility, and often shy away from a commitment towards family planning. Whilst women tend to be better educated than men about the realities of their declining fertility, there remains more work to be done to raise awareness across the community. Women remain reluctant to assert their pressing need to make a start, and without this insistence, critical years continue to pass them by.
In preparing for pregnancy, there are some simple lifestyle measures that can assist a successful conception:
- Regular exercise and weight loss: even a moderate 1-2 kilogram loss of weight can, in some women, kick start a healthier menstrual cycle
- Smoking cessation
- Begin Folic Acid 500mcg 1 daily from 3 months prior to conception
- Reduce alcohol to 1 ( max 2) standard drink daily, with 2 alcohol free days.
- Timing of intercourse: This should be more frequent through the middle of the cycle.
Overall, eighty five percent of women conceive within the first year of trying. A further thirty percent of those remaining, will conceive in the second year. That leaves 10% of women who will remain non pregnant after 2 years. These rates, however, are much worse for women in their 30s and 40s.
Where a lack of partner is the obstacle to conception, some women are family planning solo, using donor sperm that is either anonymous, or from a willing known male friend or acquaintance. This is usually facilitated through fertility clinics.
Assisted reproduction techniques, such as IVF, have continued to improve over the decades, but cannot compensate for age related decline in egg quality. In some cases egg freezing , ideally conducted up to, but no later than one’s mid 30s, may be a suitable option to extend a women’s fertility, however it does come at a significant cost.
Whilst there are many ways to assist a couple to achieve a pregnancy, the most important message of all is that there is no time like the present. Taking the plunge earlier rather than later, is the very best way to ensure success. And if there appears to be any delay in falling pregnant, seek help early from your GP.