What age is it easiest to get pregnant

What to Know in Your 20s, 30s, and 40s

Age and Fertility: What to Know in Your 20s, 30s, and 40s

Medically reviewed by Debra Rose Wilson, Ph.D., MSN, R.N., IBCLC, AHN-BC, CHT — By Stephanie Watson on September 19, 2018

Overview

Thanks to contraception and the widespread availability of reproductive technologies, couples today have more control over when they want to begin their family than in the past.

Waiting to start a family is possible, although it can make it a little harder to get pregnant.

Fertility naturally declines with age, and having a baby later in life can increase the risk for pregnancy complications.

That said, there’s no “best age” to get pregnant. The decision to start a family should be based on many factors — including your age and your readiness to be a parent.

Just because you’re over 30 or 40 doesn’t mean you can’t have a healthy baby.

Read on to learn more about getting pregnant in each stage of your life.

In your 20s

Women are most fertile and have the best chance of getting pregnant in their 20s.

This is the time when you have the highest number of good quality eggs available and your pregnancy risks are lowest.

At age 25, your odds of conceiving after 3 months of trying are just under 20 percent.

In your 30s

Fertility gradually begins to decline at around age 32. After age 35, that decline speeds up.

Women are born with all the eggs they’ll ever have — about 1 million of them. The number of eggs gradually drops over time.

At age 37, it’s estimated that you’ll have around 25,000 eggs left.

By age 35, your odds of conceiving after 3 months of trying are about 12 percent.

The risk for miscarriage and genetic abnormalities also begins to rise after age 35. You might face more complications in your pregnancy or during delivery having a baby later in life.

Due to this, your doctor might recommend additional screening and testing for you and your baby.

In your 40s

There’s a steep decline in a woman’s ability to get pregnant naturally in her 40s. At age 40, your odds of conceiving after 3 months of trying are around 7 percent.

Over time, the quantity and quality of your eggs decline. Older eggs can have more chromosome problems, which increases the odds of having a baby with a birth defect.

Most women in their 40s can still have a healthy pregnancy and baby, but the risks increase significantly during this time. These risks include:

C-section delivery
premature birth
low birth weight
birth defects
stillbirth

Medical conditions, like diabetes and high blood pressure, are more common in women after age 35. These can lead to pregnancy complications like gestational diabetes and preeclampsia.

After age 40, your doctor may do extra testing and monitoring to look for possible complications.

Fertility options

If you’re over 35 and you’ve been trying to get pregnant for more than 6 months, you might be dealing with fertility issues. Your doctor or a fertility specialist can help determine why you aren’t pregnant yet and recommend next steps for trying to conceive.

Assisted reproductive technologies (ART) can help you conceive, but they can’t entirely make up for age-related declines in your fertility.

Doctors treat fertility issues in women with drugs that stimulate egg production, and techniques like in vitro fertilization (IVF).

But the odds of achieving a successful pregnancy with these methods do get lower as you age.

Another option is to use a healthy donor egg. The egg is fertilized with your partner’s sperm and then transferred to your uterus.

Freezing your eggs

If you’re not quite ready to have a family but know that you’ll want one in the future, you might want to consider freezing your eggs during your peak reproductive years.

First, you’ll take hormones to stimulate egg production. Then the eggs will be retrieved and frozen. They can stay frozen for several years.

When you’re ready to use them, the eggs will be thawed and injected with a sperm to be fertilized. The resulting embryos will then be implanted in your uterus.

Freezing your eggs won’t guarantee a pregnancy. Conceiving — even with younger eggs — is more difficult once you’re in your late 30s and 40s. But it can ensure that healthy eggs are available to you when you’re ready.

Male fertility

A man’s fertility also declines with age. But this process happens later, usually starting around age 40.

After that age, men have a lower semen volume and sperm count. The sperm they do have don’t swim as well.

Sperm cells of an older man are also more likely to have genetic abnormalities than those of a younger man.

The older a man is, the longer it will take him to get his partner pregnant. And his partner is at greater risk for a miscarriage, regardless of her age.

This doesn’t mean that a man can’t father children in his 40s and beyond. But it might be a little more difficult than it was earlier in his life.

Benefits of having children later | Benefits

In addition to giving you time to explore your career and relationship, waiting to get pregnant has other benefits to both you and your baby.

A 2016 study found that older mothers are more patient and tend to yell and punish their children less. Their children also have fewer social, emotional, and behavioral problems in elementary school.

Research has also found that children born to older mothers are generally healthier and end up better educated than their peers who were born to younger mothers.

Waiting to get pregnant might even help you live longer. Another 2016 study found that the odds of living to 90 were much higher in women who delayed having children.

There’s no proof that delaying childbearing directly causes any of these effects. It’s possible that other factors in older mothers besides their age might have played a role. But these findings suggest there are some advantages to waiting.

When to get help

If you’ve been trying to get pregnant but aren’t having any luck, it’s time to see a fertility specialist.

Here’s when to see a doctor:

within a year of trying if you’re under age 35
within 6 months if you’re over age 35

Couples with known genetic diseases or those who’ve had multiple miscarriages should also check in with their doctor or a fertility specialist.

Takeaway

The passing years can make it more challenging to get pregnant. Yet it’s still possible to have a healthy baby when you’re in your 30s or 40s.

Ultimately, the perfect time to get pregnant is when it feels right to you. It’s not unreasonable to wait until you feel more confident in your career and finances to start building your family.

If you do choose to wait, you might want to check in with your doctor or a fertility specialist to make sure no health issues will stand in your way once you’re ready.

Last medically reviewed on September 19, 2018

Parenthood
Pregnancy

How we vetted this article:

Healthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical associations. We avoid using tertiary references. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.

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Our experts continually monitor the health and wellness space, and we update our articles when new information becomes available.

Current Version

Sep 19, 2018

Stephanie Watson

Edited By

Nizam Khan (TechSpace)

Medically Reviewed By

Debra Rose Wilson, PhD, MSN, RN, IBCLC, AHN-BC, CHT

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Medically reviewed by Debra Rose Wilson, Ph. D., MSN, R.N., IBCLC, AHN-BC, CHT — By Stephanie Watson on September 19, 2018

What’s Ideal and What Are the Risks?

Childbearing Age: What’s Ideal and What Are the Risks?

Medically reviewed by Holly Ernst, PA-C — By Stephanie Watson on June 6, 2018

What’s the childbearing age?

Technically, women can get pregnant and bear children from puberty when they start getting their menstrual period to menopause when they stop getting it. The average woman’s reproductive years are between ages 12 and 51.

Your fertility naturally declines as you get older, which could make it harder for you to conceive. And starting a family later in life could pose greater risks for pregnancy complications.

Experts say the best time to get pregnant is between your late 20s and early 30s. This age range is associated with the best outcomes for both you and your baby. One study pinpointed the ideal age to give birth to a first child as 30.5.

Your age is just one factor that should go into your decision to get pregnant. You also need to consider your emotional and financial readiness to start a family. That timing is unique for each woman.

How does age affect fertility?

Women are born with all the eggs they’ll ever have — about 2 million of them. Your number of eggs gradually falls over the years.

By age 37, you’ll have about 25,000 eggs left. By age 51, you’ll only have 1,000 eggs left. That might still sound like a lot of eggs, but the quality of your eggs also goes down as you age.

Your risk for developing conditions that can negatively impact fertility, like endometriosis and tubal disease, also increases as you get older.

Because of these factors, your fertility begins to gradually decline at around age 32. Starting between 35 and 37, fertility begins to drop more quickly.

Your chance of getting pregnant decreases as you get older. After three months of trying, your odds of conceiving in during your next cycle are:

18 percent at age 25
16 percent at age 30
12 percent at age 35
7 percent at age 40

Other factors may reduce your chances of getting pregnant, including:

smoking
cancer treatments such as radiation and chemotherapy
pelvic infection

What are the benefits of getting pregnant at certain ages?

Women in the United States are waiting longer than ever to get pregnant. The average age of first-time moms is nearly 27, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Birth rates have risen among women in their 30s and dropped among those in their 20s.

Benefits of delaying starting a family

Waiting to start a family can have some benefits. You’ll have more time to save up money, establish your relationship, and become more financially secure for your child.

Age can also bring wisdom and patience. And there’s some evidence that children born to older parents achieve higher levels of education.

Holding off on pregnancy might have advantages for you, as well. A 2012 study suggested that women who gave birth to their last or only child at age 40 or older had a lower risk for uterine cancer.

Benefits of having children at a younger age

Being a younger mother is more beneficial to your baby’s health. Your odds of conceiving are increased in your late 20s or early 30s. Getting pregnant during this time also reduces your chances of having a pregnancy complication.

Risks of getting pregnant at age 35 and older

Starting at age 35, these pregnancy risks become more common:

gestational diabetes
high blood pressure
preeclampsia
placenta previa
miscarriage
premature birth
stillbirth
need for a cesarean delivery
heavy bleeding after delivery
infant low birth weight
chromosomal abnormalities such as Down syndrome

When should you see a doctor for fertility questions?

Fertility issues are very common. More than 12 percent of women have difficulties getting pregnant. If you haven’t been able to get pregnant, a fertility specialist can do tests to see why you’re not conceiving and offer treatments to improve your odds of a pregnancy.

See a fertility specialist if:

You’re age 35 or younger and you’ve been trying to get pregnant for a year.
You’re over age 35 and you’ve been trying for more than 6 months.
You’re over age 40 and you’d like to start a family.

The fertility treatment your doctor recommends depends on factors like the cause of your fertility issues, your age, and your preferences. Options include:

fertility drugs to stimulate ovulation
surgery to fix a uterine condition, such as endometriosis, fibroids, or blocked fallopian tubes
intrauterine insemination, where sperm is placed directly into your uterus during ovulation
in vitro fertilization, where sperm and egg are placed together in a lab until they form an embryo, which is then implanted into your uterus
zygote intrafallopian transfer and gamete intrafallopian transfer, where the sperm and egg or a fertilized egg is placed into your fallopian tube

Tips for conception

If you’re ready to start trying for a baby, here are a few things you can do to help make parenthood a reality:

Get to a healthy weight. An ideal body mass index is between 19 and 24. Being overweight or underweight can affect your ability to ovulate.
Quit smoking. Smoking can damage your egg supply and make you more likely to miscarry if you do get pregnant.
Watch your diet. Eating a high-fat diet can contribute to weight gain and disrupt your reproductive cycle.
Limit caffeine and alcohol. Research has linked excess amounts of caffeine (more than two or three cups of coffee daily) with miscarriage. Frequent alcohol use can prolong the time it takes you to get pregnant and is harmful to fetal development.

You can increase your chances of having a healthy baby by following these tips:

Treat any conditions that could make pregnancy risky, including diabetes and high blood pressure.
See your obstetrician for a preconception visit to make sure you’re healthy enough to get pregnant. Then, keep up with all of your scheduled pregnancy visits. Seeing you regularly will let your doctor monitor your and your baby’s health and address any problems that arise.
Take good care of your body. Don’t smoke or drink alcohol, follow a healthy eating plan, exercise often, and get enough sleep.

The takeaway

You’ll have the best odds of getting pregnant and having a healthy baby if you start trying in your 20s or 30s, but that scenario isn’t right for every woman. When deciding to start a family, you also need to consider whether you’re:

in a solid relationship or have the support system to have a child on your own
ready to temporarily put your career on hold
financially secure enough to support a child

If you have any concerns about your ability to get pregnant, see your gynecologist or visit a fertility specialist.

Last medically reviewed on June 6, 2018

Parenthood
Pregnancy

How we vetted this article:

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Our experts continually monitor the health and wellness space, and we update our articles when new information becomes available.

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Medically reviewed by Holly Ernst, PA-C — By Stephanie Watson on June 6, 2018

How a woman's reproductive age affects the conception of a healthy child

Contents of the page

Get ready to get answers to these important questions. You will also learn about the features associated with the process of conception for women of different ages.

Women 20-24 years old

The age from 20 to 24 years is the best period for pregnancy. At this age, 90% of the eggs are genetically normal, and it is this fact that affects the conception of a healthy child. The probability of conceiving a healthy baby at this age and within a year of regular sexual activity is 96%.

Here it is important to note that high chances of conception, unfortunately, do not always lead to the birth of a healthy child. The thing is that young people are less responsible for preparation and pregnancy, so some risk factors leading to complications during pregnancy are ignored. For example: bad habits, malnutrition, vitamin deficiency.

Therefore, it is important to have appropriate examinations at any age in order to feel confident in terms of health and not jeopardize the health of the unborn baby.

25-29 years old

Between the ages of 25 and 29, the chances of getting pregnant within a year of sexual activity are 86%, and the chances of miscarriage are no more than 10%.

Of course, you need to carefully prepare for pregnancy, monitor your health, nutrition, weight and avoid stress. We wrote about this above and are ready to repeat it every time when it comes to planning a pregnancy.

But, as a rule, if you are under 30 and you carefully monitor your health when planning a pregnancy, you have every chance to conceive healthy children.

30-34 years old

At the age of 35 years, the probability of conceiving a child is still high and is also 86%. But, unfortunately, the probability of miscarriage increases and is approximately 20%.

In addition, after the age of 30, many women develop chronic diseases that can negatively affect pregnancy.

When preparing for pregnancy at this age, it is most important to pay attention to your health. If conception does not occur after 12 months of active sexual activity, it is necessary to consult a reproductive specialist.

35-39 years old

Is it possible to get pregnant after 35 years? This question is not just so worried about many women. The fact is that female fertility begins to decline rapidly after 35 years.

Despite this, there are chances of getting pregnant after 35 years. The probability of conception during the year is 78%.

However, let's talk about the decline in female fertility. Such a process in the female body is the main reason for the increased risk of transmission of chromosomal disorders, which negatively affect the viability of the egg and embryo. This phenomenon is due to the fact that the egg contains less energy to be able to correctly distribute the genetic material and provide, at the expense of its energy, the early stages of development and implantation of the embryo. Therefore, the likelihood of conception of an embryo with chromosomal abnormalities (for example, Down syndrome) increases. We will talk more about chromosomal abnormalities in our next articles.

We would like to emphasize again that if you take your health responsibly and undergo the correct examination during the period of preparation for pregnancy, consult a reproductive specialist, many disorders during pregnancy can simply be prevented.

If you are aged 35-39 and are trying to get pregnant, we do not recommend that you wait the full 12 months. Do not waste time, because. at this age, every month counts, and if you have not been able to get pregnant for six months, you should contact a specialist and go through all the necessary tests.

40 to 44

Between the ages of 40 and 44, a woman may only ovulate a few times in 12 months as the body's egg supply and production of estrogen and progesterone decline. The probability of getting pregnant at this age is very small, but this does not mean that conception after 40 is impossible at all.

The main thing is to correctly approach pregnancy planning. Of course, it is better not to postpone such an important event for a long time. And this is not only our recommendation, but also the recommendation of all the leading reproductologists in the world.

Let's recap!

Pregnancy is wonderful, and planning, conceiving and giving birth to a healthy baby is undoubtedly the best and most important event in the life of every woman. And if you approach this process as responsibly as possible, regularly undergo medical examinations, lead a healthy lifestyle and periodically take vitamins that are important for the female body, you will definitely have healthy and happy children.

Remember, women's reproductive age has its limits, but cases of infertility are correctable. If you cannot conceive naturally, modern and effective reproductive technologies that are used in the Reprolife Medical Center will help you. Among them: ICSI, PGT-A (NGS), PGT-M, PGT-SR, TESA.

Our team of professionals specializes in the treatment of all forms of infertility and comprehensive pregnancy management.
We will take care of the birth of healthy children in your family!

Pregnancy and age

Every woman who plans to have children asks a natural question - when is the best time to plan the birth of her first child? Of course, the answer to this question may depend on a lot of factors, including the psychological readiness for motherhood, the stability of relationships with a partner, career and life goals of a woman. But in this article we will consider another important factor - the state of the body and the characteristics of the course of pregnancy at different ages.

Pregnancy under 18

There is an opinion that from a physiological point of view, the sooner the better. However, this is not quite true. Too early pregnancy is fraught with serious complications, exhaustion of the body and traumatic childbirth. This is because the young organism has not yet fully formed itself, and is not ready for such a load.

Therefore, too early pregnancy will not benefit either the mother or the fetus.

18-25

This age is considered ideal for the first pregnancy and childbirth, because a woman has a young and strong body, a large reserve of eggs and, as yet, a small amount of chronic diseases.

Of course, here too everything is strictly individual. Sometimes the body of a more mature woman can be healthier and stronger than that of a girl aged 18-25. Much here depends on genetics, individual characteristics and lifestyle. However, if you look at the statistics, at the age of up to 25 years, the risk of genetic pathologies in the fetus, as well as concomitant complications during pregnancy in the mother, is minimal.

25-35

Gone are the days when women who gave birth after 25 were called old-bearers. Now more and more women give birth to their first child at the turn of 30 years and older. And if the body is full of strength, the expectant mother feels good and led the right lifestyle, the chances of giving birth to a healthy baby in this period of years are not much lower than up to 25. Fertility up to 35 years is still quite high, but it is better to plan pregnancy more seriously, having checked your health and, if necessary, preparing the body for the upcoming pregnancy.

Of course, during pregnancy after 30, there is a higher chance of complications during pregnancy and in general, it may not be as easy as in 20. For example, there may be problems with pressure and swelling, you will have to visit the doctor more often. But, again, everything is strictly individual and depends on the state of the body of each individual woman.

35-40

After 35, fertility declines and it can be more difficult to get pregnant on your own. In addition, the previous lifestyle of a woman already influences the course of pregnancy, and chronic diseases can also complicate it. In general, after 35, pregnancy can bring surprises, in the form of complications such as hypertension and diabetes. In addition, the risk of having a child with genetic pathologies increases.

The state of health and lifestyle of a woman at this age - chronic diseases, stress, bad habits, sports, excess weight, etc. have a great influence on how the pregnancy will go.

40+

Pregnancy after 40 is difficult, but possible. The difficulty is that the body's reserves are already exhausted by this age, the biography of the reproductive organs already also has a long history, and the more problems it had, for example, inflammatory diseases, interrupted pregnancies, etc., the more difficult it can be to get pregnant.

In addition, changes are already taking place in the tissues of the reproductive organs by this age, and the muscles lose their elasticity, which can make childbirth more difficult and traumatic. Usually, after 40, the percentage of caesarean sections increases, giving birth naturally can be more difficult.