What is the effect of our age on fertility?

Abstract:

Objectives:

To assess the results obtained in our clinic with intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) in severe male factor infertility and failed fertilization and to determine if the age of the female has any impact on those results.

Design:

Retrospective study.

Setting:

Private high- complexity Human Reproduction "center".

Patients:

One hundred five couples with a total of 114 procedures. Eighty-six were classified as severe male factor and 19 were classified as previous failed fertilization.

Interventions:

Treatment was performed by ICSI.

Main Outcome Measure:

Normal fertilization, cleavage, and implantation, total, term, and ongoing pregnancy rates in the total population and in different age brackets.

Results:

Excellent fertilization, cleavage, and implantation rates were obtained with this procedure (78%, 85%, and 13.5%, respectively). The total pregnancy rates were 43% and 46% per cycle and per transfer and 31.5% and 33.6% in terms of term and ongoing pregnancy rates. A significant reduction in implantation and total, and term and ongoing pregnancy rates was seen after the age of 35 years.

Conclusions:

The results obtained with ICSI are quite satisfactory with proper equipment and careful training. The age of the female is an important parameter in determining prognosis and treatment outcome.

Please click on the required question.

• 1 What is infertility?
• 2 How prevalent are infertility problems?
• 3 What are the main causes of infertility?
• 4 What are the objectives of our infertility investigations?
• 5 Have there been any noticeable changes in fertility requirements in recent years?
• 6  What is the effect of our age on fertility?
• 7 I smoke cigarettes. Can this have an effect on my fertility?
• 8 Does my weight influence fertility?
• 8A Obesity! How can I lose weight?
• 9 I have fibroids. Could these reduce my fertility?
• 10 I have been told that my womb has an abnormal shape and that was the way that I was born. Could this reduce my fertility?
• 11 I have endometriosis. Could this reduce my fertility?
• 12 I have been told that I have cervicitis or a cervical ectopy (erosion). Could this impair my fertility?
• 13 My doctor tells me that my womb is retroverted (tilts backwards). Could this reduce my fertility?
• 14 I have had an ectopic pregnancy. Does this affect my future fertility?
• 15  We are worried that we may have a fertility problem. What should we do?
• 16 How will our doctor be able to identify the cause of our infertility?
• 17 How can we tell if I am releasing my eggs (ovulating)?
• 18 Investigations have shown that I have a problem releasing my eggs (anovulation). What could be the cause of this?
• 19 How important are my Fallopian tubes in fertility?
• 20 How can we tell if my Fallopian tubes are functioning?
• 21a What are the causes of male factor infertility?
• 21 How can we assess male fertility?
• 22  What is the purpose of a post-coital test (PCT)?
• 23 We have had our infertility investigations and our problem remains unexplained. How can this be?
• 24 What are our chances of achieving a pregnancy?
• 25 Where can I obtain more information?
• 26 Could we have some recommended infertility support groups?
  

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This is the personal website of David A Viniker MD FRCOG, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at Whipps Cross University Hospital, London - Specialist Interests - Reproductive Medicine including Infertility, PCOS, PMS, Menopause and HRT.

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