Advanced Maternal Age (AMA)

In the present times many women are choosing to have babies much later in life and have been on oral contraceptive pill (OCP) for many years.

Today, many women are choosing to delay motherhood for work or other personal reasons. Unfortunately, when a woman is >35 years she is now considered to be of Advanced Maternal age. Statistics show a significantly decreased pregnancy rate after 40 with a higher chance of chromosomal abnormalities in the fetus.

Unlike men who produce fresh sperm daily, women are born with all the eggs that they will ever have.  As women age the eggs age as well and this results in a natural decline in fertility. New research is indicative of an age related decline in sperm quality as well, but to a lesser degree.

At birth, the ovaries contain all the eggs a woman will ever have. By the onset of puberty, this number has already dropped into the 100,000’s. For most women, this means there are plenty of eggs to last from menarche to menopause. Research has revealed that, as a whole, female fertility begins to decline sharply around the age of 35.

By age 40, a woman’s chance of conceiving within one year is roughly half that of what it was when she was in her late 20’s.

Every year after 40, the chances of conceiving naturally continue to decline sharply, with women over the age of 44 having less than a 2% chance of conceiving with their own eggs.

For older women who have decided to have children later in life, the combination of reproductive aging and the effects of being on the birth control for years can negatively  impact fertility. Recent research shows that age can impact sperm quality too.

At Eastern Harmony Clinic we utilize an individually combination of acupuncture, and herbal treatments to achieve positive results. These treatments improve fertility by regulating hormones, increasing blood flow and reducing stress which may improve chances at natural conception, or prepare patients for an IVF cycle with their own eggs or donor eggs.

Each treatment plan is individually tailored after a detailed consultation and includes acupuncture, herbs, supplements and nutritional guidelines.