The oocyte supply is finite and decreases with age. When and who needs to be checked, how much does the analysis cost and what to do if there are very few eggs? Reproductologist answers
We all know that getting pregnant is much more difficult with age. The peak of a woman's reproductive functions falls at the age of 25, and after that it begins to decline uncontrollably. According to statistics, after 40 years, the chances of getting pregnant naturally are only 7-10%. And this is due to the quantity and quality of eggs. This indicator is individual for each woman, and moreover, it falls throughout her life. In Western countries, it is recommended to check it from the age of 12, while in Ukraine, many do not even know about this possibility. Why control your eggs, who needs to do it and when? These questions were answered by an obstetrician-gynecologist of the highest category, reproductologist and doctor of medical sciences, head physician of the Medical Center "Ayvimed" Galina Strelko.
"You can't do a lifting for an egg cell"
Cosmetology will not stop the internal biological clock / istockphoto.com
The fact remains. More and more women today become mothers after 35 years. If earlier such mothers were called the offensive word "old-born", now childbirth after 35 is considered a variant of the norm. Because of this, many ladies for the time being do not worry at all about their reproductive functions. Especially those who regularly monitor their appearance and health. After all, even in my head it can’t keep within that an active, vigorous and full of strength woman, whom you don’t seem to give even 30, may have some kind of fertility problems.
“This is a fairly common problem,” says Galina Strelko. - The current level of cosmetology makes it possible to push back the Balzac age by 15 years. All kinds of peelings, lifts, botox help a woman look much younger than her age. This is an absolute plus. But the biological alarm clock is ticking according to the old pattern, and the aging process in the body does not stop. With all the desire, you cannot do a lifting to the eggs. "
Not all women know that each of us "for life" is allocated a certain supply of eggs. Their greatest concentration in the body is observed not at 18-20 years old, but at 4 months of intrauterine (!) Development. On average, during this period, the fetus contains 7 million. oocytes. Then their number begins to decrease. “The rate of decline in oocyte supply (also called ovarian reserve or ovarian RR) increases dramatically after 37-38 years. If before that time about 1000 of them disappeared a year, then after 37.5 years it is already 2500 annually. At some stage, the supply ends, and the woman begins menopause, ”says Galina Strelko.
How to check your egg supply
You can check your egg supply with a blood test / istockphoto.com
Menopause is also a purely individual process. “According to statistics, menopause occurs at 50-52 years plus or minus a year,” says Galina Strelko. - But 10% of women have it before the age of 45, and 1% of women under the age of 40. In some, albeit insignificant percentage of women, menopause can occur before the age of 30. When at this age a woman comes to a gynecologist with a violation of the cycle, she is treated for anything: from polycystic disease, from hyperprolactinemia, but not from this. Even doctors do not always think that menopause may occur at this age.
Climax for a woman, this is the same as a sentence: after its onset, she will hardly be able to become pregnant naturally and on her own eggs. Women, as a rule, stop getting pregnant, already 7-10 years before the onset of menopause, warns Galina Strelko. Indeed, with age, not only the number of eggs decreases, but their quality also deteriorates. Meanwhile, the onset of menopause is not so difficult to “predict”: it is enough to pass a hormonal blood test, which costs about 400-500 UAH in our laboratories.
“This analysis is used to assess a woman's ovarian reserve,” explains Galina Strelko. - It's called an AMH or anti-Müllerian hormone test. This is the hormone that ovarian follicles produce. So, by its quantity, we can indirectly estimate the supply of eggs and assume when a woman will have menopause. To put it very simply, anything greater than 2.5 is fine, and anything less than 1 is bad. If a woman, even at the age of 25, received an indicator, for example, 0.3, according to the results of the analysis, she urgently needs to do something. "
What to do if there are few eggs
An AMG test will show you your chance of getting pregnant on your own / istockphoto.com
You can assess your ovarian reserve at any age. For example, in the countries of Western Europe and America, women are advised to regularly observe its dynamics, starting at the age of 12. If, for several years, doctors see that AMH is falling, this is an indication to freeze the eggs. “A woman who is interested in her reproductive functions should definitely take care of this issue,” says Galina Strelko. - And the sooner she does it, the better. If the AMH level is low, you need to either start trying to get pregnant, or save the eggs for the future. "
In the matter of freezing eggs, it is also better not to wait until the age of 40. After all, over time, they greatly lose in quality, our expert warns. A proven fact: with age, the structures that ensure the correct separation of chromosomes in a fertilized egg are disrupted. Figuratively speaking, these structures "pull" chromosomes in different directions. The older the woman, the worse the structures “pull”, and the chromosomes are separated not according to the rules, but as necessary. Because of this, anomalies such as Down syndrome or other chromosomal abnormalities of the fetus. “If we take our IVF practice, then 80% of embryos in women over 40 have similar genetic defects,” emphasizes Galina Strelko.
Therefore, a woman should remember two things. The first is that the supply of eggs is finite. And if, for some reason, before the age of 35, you did not realize your reproductive plans, you need to be tested for AMG (but it is better to do this before the age of 30). Further - according to the results: either relax for a while, or urgently plan a pregnancy, or think about freezing your stock for the future. So that after 40 years, when you still decide to have a child, you have young and healthy eggs, with good quality and without chromosomal defects.
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