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Conception at 42 yrs of Age.

I am 42yrs old with a 10yr old child. I have had 2 early(less than 3 months) miscarriages at 37 yrs and 41yrs.


Have had inter menstrual bleeding a couple of times since my last mc and cycle which was v regular has become irregular.

I am ttc but don't know whether I am ovulating at all? Have been to the GYN who has done a pap smear, pelvic exam and a scan of the uterus...everything is clear.

Can I conceive naturally at all at my age? I will be 43 this Oct. My husband is exactly my age.

I had a chromosomal test done after my mc at 37...that was ok .

Answer:

Hi,

When a regular period become suddenly irregular there are many possibilities:

1. Stress and emotional trauma.
2. Hormonal imbalance
3. Perimenopause causing estrogen fluctuations
4. Non-ovulating due to low progesterone
5. Poor ovarian reserves

My advice is to begin by charting your cycle to know if you are actually ovulating and when. In also need to know the length of your luteal phase and make sure you are not ovulating too late as this will increase your risk of miscarrying.

I would recommend using Ovacue with the vaginal sensor. Ovacue is recommended to all women who are TTC, but especially to those who are over 40 because in this age range hormonal fluctuations are a lot more common.

The reason why I recommend using Ovacue is because the oral sensor of Ovacue measures the electrolytes levels in your saliva that correlate with estrogen levels.

If your estrogen levels are fluctuating a blood test may not pick it up, unless you have many tests done. Ovacue measures the entire month levels of estrogen and it is more accurate.

When you use the vaginal sensor you measure the transition from estrogen dominance to progesterone dominance in your cervical mucus to confirm ovulation.

If Ovacue confirms ovulation, you are fine. Diagnosing ovulation issues in women over 40 is very difficult because you ovulate really well one month and not at all the next one. That’s why Ovacue can help you pin point your most fertile time faster and make things easier while TTC.

Find out more about Ovacue here.

Fertility Blessings!

Comments for Conception at 42 yrs of Age.

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Preconception Care and Advanced Maternal Age
by: Betsy

On your advanced maternal age page, you say the following: "women over 35 carry healthy babies especially if they take time to have a healthy and natural preconception period of 4 months."

What is your source for this information? I am very curious about studies relating to this and can't find that type of statement anywhere else. I'm 40, had a very short time to conceive (5 months) and am convinced that lowers my risk - but would love to find the studies that say so.

Thanks in advance.

- Betsy

ANSWER:

Hi Betsy,

There are many studies published in both mainstream medicinal journals and in alternative ones. All these studies assess pregnancy outcome based on maternal age and preconception and prenatal care.

In my website I really want older women who are trying to conceive to understand that taking good care of their bodies before and during pregnancy can make a huge difference in their healthy during pregnancy and in the health of their babies.

These are just a few articles you can read, but you can find many more:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8335137
http://www.webmd.com/baby/guide/pregnancy-after-35
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14617463
http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=383081
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002937808010296
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0015028207013799

A great book you may be interested in reading is "Healthy Parents Better Babies" by Francesca Naish, leading expert in natural fertility and preconception care. Here, Francesca talks about how important preconception period is and what older women should do to increase their chances of having a healthy pregnancy and baby.

The preconception care is at least 3-4 months before actively trying to conceive because this is the time required by the ovaries to mature healthy eggs from primordial follicle to ready-to-be-released egg at ovulation.

The health of your eggs determines the health of your baby. What makes a healthy egg is the quality of the ovarian tissue where the follicle develops.

By eating fertility foods, you give your ovaries all the nutrients they need to improve egg quality, which is very important in advanced maternal age.

In male the time required to make healthy sperm is about the same. Men who want to become fathers should also try to improve sperm quality during the preconception period through supplementation and life style chances.

Of course you do not have to wait this time if you are already healthy, are not on any medication that can cause birth defects and do not smoke.

Make sure to wait at least 4 months if you had any x-rays or dental work and any immunizations.

The month before getting pregnant is especially important. This is where you should avoid acohol and over-the-counter meds.

This guide will be a good source of information for you:

http://www.beststart.org/resources/rep_health/pdf/bs_pregnancy_age35.pdf


Many Blessings!

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