Is it too late for women to have children at the age of 4 or 50? Medical advice: "Scenario 2": Consider artificial insemination as soon as possible!
If a woman reaches the age of 40 and wants to have a good pregnancy, can she actually still have a child successfully through artificial reproductive insemination? Dr. Hu Yuming, director of the Reproductive Center of Taipei Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinic, pointed out in an interview that there was indeed a special case in which the couple both carried the recessive gene for “chromia pigmentation disorder”. They had two natural pregnancies in the past, but it was found that the fetus carried the gene for the disease, so they had to Choose abortion. The couple had a glimmer of hope for in vitro fertilization. Dr. Hu Yuming found a genetically normal embryo through PGD genetic testing, and successfully became pregnant after the first implantation into the uterus.
Is congenital hormone deficiency causing poor Qi during pregnancy? Artificial insemination helps filter out defective genes
In response to the above cases, Dr. Hu Yuming said that for those with congenital genetic defects, it is difficult to avoid the possibility of passing the disease on to the fetus through natural childbirth. There are also patients with excess congenital Carmen syndrome who cannot secrete “follicle stimulating hormone” (FSH) and “luteinizing hormone” (LH) normally, which may lead to a lower chance of pregnancy. Insufficient FSH or LH can occur in both men and women. It may cause testosterone deficiency and poor sperm quality in men. Women may have abnormal menstrual periods and must take menstrual medications to cause menstruation.
Dr. Hu Yuming pointed out that although the FSH/LH levels in certain women are insufficient, they still have eggs in their bodies, which can be removed through artificial reproduction to help conceive. For example, there was a patient with “Carmen’s syndrome” who had congenital abnormal sense of smell and low secretion of FSH and LH, so he used in vitro fertilization to screen eggs carrying the disease gene.
“Ordinary people have endogenous FSH and LH, so the dose does not need to be particularly high; but because this patient does not have endogenous FSH and LH, a higher dose is needed for ovarian follicles to grow.”
Population growth is gradually moving towards a situation where life is worse than death! If you want to have a baby at the age of 40, you don’t necessarily need to freeze your eggs?
Dr. Hu Yuming said frankly that Taiwan’s current society has actually become a stage where “life is worse than death” - that is, the birth rate is lower than the death rate. In the past, more than half of the patients who came for treatment three years ago were women over 40 years old. Some women had poor ovarian function, with anti-Mullerian hormone values (AMH) of only 0.1 or 0.2, or even lower than 0.01, 0.02. Conception under this condition is quite a severe challenge.
“Sometimes it takes 1 or 2 months to find a follicle. The ovarian function of these patients is already close to menopausal women!”
Dr. Hu Yuming said that after such patients successfully give birth through artificial insemination, some of them cannot even remove a single follicle. I have also met 45 or 46-year-old women who wanted to have children, but after having children through artificial insemination, they were no longer able to have children. The closer women are to menopause, the more often they need to collect eggs, because the number of eggs is not only small, but the quality also declines with age, which not only tests the doctor’s skill but also depends on luck.
Dr. Hu Yuming pointed out that when women have difficulty ovulating or are even unable to ovulate on their own, they may also consider accepting egg donation to achieve pregnancy. If you ovulate on your own, the maximum age at conception is around 48 to 50 years old; if you are a patient who receives egg donation, there are clinically successful cases of patients over 50 years old. However, it is still recommended for women to give birth as early as possible to ensure the health of the fetus and mother.
Is infertility linked to a sharp decline in the childbearing population? Socioeconomic factors remain the core issue
The issue of “infertility” has gradually attracted the attention of Taiwanese people in recent years. And is this related to the sharp decline in the birth population? Dr. Hu Yuming explained that the problem of low fertility involves many issues such as environment, policy, and society. Not only Taiwan is facing a declining birth rate, but East Asian countries including South Korea, Japan, and China are also experiencing this trend.
Dr. Hu Yuming said that although infertility is related to abnormal ovulation, abnormal semen, late marriage, exposure to plasticizers, abnormal uterine cavity structure, etc., socioeconomic factors still account for the majority of Taiwan’s low fertility rate. “With the rise of gender awareness, women also want to work hard at a young age and live a better life. However, when they wait until they are older to decide to get married and have children, the chance of pregnancy is often even smaller.”
Dr. Hu Yuming reminded that if a man or woman has the idea of having a baby, they should fully discuss it with their partner and seek the help of a specialist to confirm whether their body constitution is suitable for pregnancy. They may also choose to freeze eggs to preserve young eggs. If you have any difficulties during the birth process, you can immediately seek help from an obstetrician-gynecologist to help clarify the cause of infertility or whether it is caused by your own disease.
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