Plan your family

The number of a woman’s eggs depends on how many she was born with (genetically conditioned), and how old she currently is (the number of eggs naturally decreases in age).

The ovarian reserve

The ovarian reserve can be defined as the number of available eggs that a woman has at a given moment in her life.

To measure it:

• Antimulleriana hormone (AMH), through a blood test. • Ultrasound, with this we can count the number of antral follicles in each ovary (each antral follicle contains 1 ovule).

Age affects the reserve

In addition to the number of eggs, the quality of the eggs is also very important; and this also deteriorates with age.

It must be borne in mind that the ovule is a sleeping cell and, despite being enveloped in several layers of cells, which among other things protect it, it suffers damage, mainly oxidative, this affects all the cells of our body; without having the possibility of regenerating, the same as it happens with the neurons of the brain.

When reaching 35 years of age, the ovarian reserve drastically decreases

We all know that the woman’s age is the main factor in her fertility, the maximum being between 20 and 30 years old, then it slowly decreases until she is 35 years old, from then on the loss of fertility is accelerated; most women will not achieve viable pregnancies beyond age 42-43.

Delay motherhood beyond 30 years ...

The first thing we must take into account is that most women with low ovarian reserve do not know it; and it is possible that many, if they seek pregnancy before the age of 30-35 years, will become pregnant without a major problem. However any woman who thinks of delaying motherhood beyond the age of 30 should study her ovarian reserve.

If a woman with low reserve does not spontaneously become pregnant, and must go to assisted reproduction, she will have a lower probability of pregnancy, having fewer eggs and of a lower quality (quantity and quality, decrease in parallel), than a woman with normal ovarian reserve.

If you know what your ovarian reserve is, you can make better decisions about your future motherhood, therefore if you do not become pregnant, you should go to an Assisted Reproduction Center without delay, this will increase your chances of being a mother.

What help is available for women with low ovarian reserve?

Studying your ovaries, in case you have low reserve, we will propose a series of studies:

• Study of chromosomes and fragile X syndrome • Study of autoimmune diseases, which may have affected the ovary, or endocrine system • Complementary hormonal study • Ultrasound repeated at the beginning of one or more periods