Jana Pit tman’s HEALTH WORDS OF WISDOM
TALKING ABOUT FERTILITY
Fertility, meaning the ability to conceive children, is something many women think about, dream about, or try to avoid. After personally going through several miscarriages, having my girls as a solo parent using a sperm donor, then donating oocyte (eggs) to two other families, and now having just welcomed twins, fertility medicine is something I’m really passionate about.
TRYING TO CONCEIVE
Many of us spend part of our lives avoiding pregnancy, so it comes as a shock when month after month you pee on a stick and end up in tears when it’s negative. I want to share some statistics to take the pressure off your ovaries, but also to inspire you to seek help from your doctor earlier.
THE FERTILITY FORMULA
It might surprise you to hear that you are only ‘fertile’ for an average of six days a month, which includes the four to five days prior to ovulation (when your body releases an egg), and the 24 hours that egg starts its journey towards the uterus for hopeful implantation.
Considering most women have a cycle of roughly 28 days, it’s a relatively small window. For women under 30, if you are having regular intercourse, you have around a 25 per cent chance of conceiving each cycle.
This reduces to five per cent when you are 40. Even if you do fall pregnant, there is a one in five chance you may miscarry, usually before 12 weeks.
Again, this rate increases as we age.
Egg quality also diminishes with age, increasing the chance of an abnormal embryo. Around 15 per cent of couples will have trouble conceiving due to an underlying medical condition, like not ovulating regularly, problematic endometriosis or a partner’s low sperm quality.
I don’t share these statistics to scare you, but more to show you the miracle of conception and that it can be challenging. It’s a topic we need to talk about more, particularly miscarriage, which is often suffered alone.
OTHER OPTIONS
Another conversation I want to raise is those of us who simply haven’t met the right partner, yet our ovaries are squeezing with the desire for motherhood.
You may read the above numbers and feel that overwhelming need to up your dating strategies. I’m with you. I’m certainly an advocate for expanding your horizons when it comes to picking your plus one. I was set on a husband taller than me, but as I got older, brains became sexier than looks and I can rest my chin on my hubby’s head! But meeting him only happened two years ago.
Before that, I chose the route of having my daughters as a solo mum through IVF and sperm donation. It’s the greatest and most challenging thing I’ve ever done.
There are several options for women these days, including oocyte freezing, fostering/adoption or the choice to have no children. All options take some soul-searching, and it’s worth a trip to your GP for a fertility assessment.
Know your body, prepare it well and then no matter what, you gave it your best.