Does age affect female fertility?

Yes, it does.

Let’s see why. Women are born with a specific number of follicles, which are “used up” throughout their fertile life.

When are eggs created?

At birth, a woman already has all the eggs she will ever use during her lifetime. More specifically, when the female embryo is 20 weeks old, about 5 million eggs have formed inside the developing ovaries. This is when new egg production stops. From these 5 million, around 80% degenerate before birth, leaving the newborn girl with about 500,000 – 1,000,000 eggs. These are the eggs that will later be released for potential fertilization during ovulation. This number represents the woman’s Ovarian Reserve. The stimulation signal for the follicles is triggered by the follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), whose levels you can measure with the FSH test.

Each follicle contains one egg. At the start of every cycle, a group of follicles begins to develop, but very early on, one dominant follicle is selected — the one that will reach ovulation and release an egg. Therefore, a woman will ovulate approximately 400 times during her reproductive years. Imagine that by the age of 30, a woman has only about 12% of the eggs she was born with. Although this number may seem small, it is still sufficient to support fertility during her reproductive years.

How does ovulation occur?

The dominant follicle grows and, midway through the cycle, reaches a diameter of about 21 millimeters. At this point, the brain’s pituitary gland releases luteinizing hormone (LH), which triggers ovulation. Once LH peaks, the follicle releases the mature egg, which then waits for a strong sperm cell to fertilize it.

What you should do

Since, as we mentioned, the number of available eggs is limited, make the most of your fertile years. How? Use our ovulation tests to identify your ovulation day and focus your intercourse during your fertile window, maximizing your chances of conception.

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