Deciding to have children can be one of the longest and most considered decisions for women. It can be difficult to decide whether you are ready to become a mother, and you may feel like the right time will never come.
While everyone’s desire to become a mother or father may vary from person to person, there is clearly an age that research has found to be best for conception.
According to the Wall Street Journal, there is an ideal time in your life to get pregnant, and that is up to the age of 32. The period before the age of 32 is the most fertile period in a woman’s life, and research conducted by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists concluded that 32 is the age when fertility begins to decline.
There is also a hard truth to accept: a woman cannot have children forever.
The best age to have a baby, according to a study
A woman is born with all the eggs she will ever have in her lifetime — roughly one to two million eggs, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). Those numbers decrease with age, but once a girl hits puberty and starts releasing those eggs and menstruating, she can get pregnant between the ages of 10 and 14, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
A woman’s body is very fertile during adolescence, but while a 15-year-old girl’s body may be ready to begin pregnancy, the rest of her body is not. According to the monitoring centers, pregnancy requires high health, emotional and financial capacities of teenage mothers and their children. On Diseases and Prevention (CDC).
A woman’s fertility begins to decline around the age of 32 and declines most rapidly after the age of 37, so biologically the best age for a woman to conceive is in her twenties, at which point her body is mature enough to bear a child, and she has a full decade before that Her fertility begins to decline.
A study published in the journal Human Reproduction found that women in their late 30s are 50% less likely to conceive during their most fertile days than women in their early 20s.
Risks associated with pregnancy at an advanced age
Studies have shown that the risk of having a child with chromosomal problems at the age of 20 is one in 525, and at the age of 40 the risk is one in 65.
And if you get pregnant in your 30s, it can be even more serious. The risk of stillbirth, for example, is higher for women over 35, according to ACOG, as is the risk of chromosomal abnormalities such as Down syndrome.
There is also a risk of preterm labor, preeclampsia (dangerously high blood pressure), and gestational diabetes in older women.
The best age to have children, according to obstetricians and gynecologists
Women are most fertile in their twenties, but this may not be the best time to try for a baby from a personal life perspective.
However, if you want to know the best time, your 20s are the right time to start planning your pregnancy.
Your gynecologist can perform a physical evaluation and may order an AMH test, to give you an idea of your ovarian reserve and how many eggs you have left.
Is it possible to be “too old to have a baby”?
According to Healthline, as long as you’re still ovulating and haven’t reached menopause, which occurs around age 51, you can get pregnant naturally.
Advances in fertility treatments and prenatal care have made getting pregnant in their 40s or even early 50s an option for an increasing number of women.
Conclusion
Women see motherhood as a major change in their lives, so it’s essential to think about it and figure out what works best for them. It’s about feeling prepared and making a decision.
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