Can I Still Get Pregnant?

Andrew Drakeley

Posted by Andrew Drakeley

27 July 2017

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What are your chances of getting pregnant at every age?

Women are born with 1 to 2 million eggs – those are all the eggs you're going to have naturally in your entire lifetime.

By the time of your first ever period, the first time your eggs can be used, your supply has dwindled to approximately 300,000. So what about when you're in your 30s? How many eggs do you have left then and what are your chances of getting pregnant?

In your mid to late 20s (25 to 29)

From age 25 to 34, you have an 86% chance of conceiving after trying for a year. Your chances of miscarrying are a little higher than they were in your early 20s – at 10%. There's no need to seek advice from a fertility specialist until you've been actively trying for more than 12 months without success. 

In your early 30s (30-34)

Your odds of getting pregnant are still high, so don't panic. There's still up to an 86% success rate for couples that try for a full year. The only real change is that your chances of miscarriage will have risen to 20%. 

Some doctors might recommend that if you are between 30 to 34 years of age and you've been trying to get pregnant for nine months (give or take a few weeks) then you might want to see your GP. That way, you'll be able to pinpoint and resolve any problems before your fertility starts to decline more rapidly after 35. 

Mid to late 30s (35 to 39)

You're still able to get pregnant at this age. At 35, most women have a 15-20% chance of getting pregnant in any given month. But from 35 and onward, fertility does start to decline – this is due to reduced egg quality. 

Around 30% of women age 35 may take a year or more to conceive. The NHS recommend that if you are above the age of 35 and you've been trying to get pregnant for around six months, then you should book an appointment to see your GP who will advise you on the best ways to increase your chances of conceiving. 

This age window is also your last chance to freeze your eggs to use at a later date.

Early 40s

At this stage, it will be much harder for you to become pregnant. Egg quality and quantity will begin to decline significantly. The uterine lining also thins and blood supply to it decreases with age, making it more difficult for the egg to implant.  It's much more likely that at this age, women will conceive through assistance from reproductive technologies, such as IVF. 

If your male partner is above the age of 40, then there might be fertility issues there, too, as male fertility decreases with age in a similar way to female fertility, although at a slower pace.

Think you might have a fertility issue? Download our Common Signs of Infertility eBook.

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Andrew Drakeley

Author: Andrew Drakeley

Mr Andrew Drakeley is the Clinical Director at the Hewitt Fertility Centre, working principally at the Liverpool Women’s site but with managerial responsibility for Knutsford. He holds subspecialty accreditation in Reproductive Medicine and surgery and is a fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, being appointed Consultant in 2005.
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