Content overview:

• Desire to have children - first postponed, then unfulfilled?
• What are the chances of a woman over 40 getting pregnant?
• Finding causes and choosing the right therapy
• Getting pregnant with the right treatment
• Using donated eggs to have the child you want
• Higher risk at a higher age?
• Treatment costs

You are 40 years or older and wish to have a child? You have put off starting a family for professional or private reasons but would now like to become pregnant? Pregnancy is also possible at the age of over 40. We will be happy to advise and treat you.

Arrange a non-binding initial consultation - our competent and experienced team will help you realize your desire to have a child. We have already successfully accompanied many women of your age on their way to pregnancy.

With us, you can expect:

• Selected experts in fertility treatment who will listen to you and your individual situation and support you with their cutting-edge expertise, years of experience and understanding.
• A modern, well-equipped clinic in which respectful interaction is a top priority.
• State-of-the-art diagnostics and a professional laboratory.
• Support and accompaniment through complementary measures such as psychological care, acupuncture, TCM & nutritional counseling.

Desire to have children - first postponed, then unfulfilled?

The number of older mothers is rising continuously. The reasons for this lie in modern life planning. Many women want to complete their education and gain a foothold in their careers before they think about having their first child. Often, the right partner or the financial means are lacking at a younger age. Some couples have been trying to get pregnant for years, but it just doesn't work out.

The older one becomes, the lower the fertility. The ideal age to get pregnant is between 25 and 35. However, you have a good chance of having the child you long for if you are older. If regular sexual intercourse without contraception does not work within six months, you should get to the bottom of the cause. Don't despair - modern medicine can help you. Involuntary childlessness is not an inevitable fate at over 40.

What are the chances of getting pregnant over the age of 40?

In principle, the younger you are, the higher your chance of a natural pregnancy. For a 20- year-old woman, the chance of pregnancy within one year is 86%, for a 40-year-old 36%.

The reasons:

• Every woman is born with a fixed number of eggs. These mature from puberty onwards. Every month, one dominant egg develops out of the many that mature, while the others are lost. The oocyte reserve continuously decreases.
• The quality of the eggs decreases, after the age of 40 even slightly more than before.
• Advancing age can be accompanied by various risk factors that can limit fertility: previous and current illnesses and therapies, stress, mental strain, severe overweight or underweight, alcohol or nicotine consumption, excessive sport or a low-vitamin diet.

Do not be discouraged. For most couples who wish to have a child, the wish for a baby is realized through the possibilities of artificial insemination. Treatment is always preceded by a comprehensive diagnosis.

FIND THE CAUSES AND CHOOSE THE APPROPRIATE THERAPY

If your desire to have a child is still unfulfilled after six months, come to us at the fertility clinic. We will clarify your particular problem and work out an individual treatment plan for you. Of course, we will accompany you comprehensively on your way to a desired child.

The diagnosis proceeds in six steps:

GETTING PREGNANT WITH THE RIGHT TREATMENT

The discussions with you and the diagnostic results provide us with all the necessary information to choose the best treatment for you. This may be hormone treatment, insemination or artificial insemination (IVF, ICSI, P-ICSI). We will inform you in detail about each step of the therapy, answer your questions and address your concerns and wishes.

The chances of pregnancy from the age of 40 for a woman who has not yet had a child are about 5 to 8% per cycle.

If in the course of the examinations it turns out that your egg reserve has already been used up, we will also support you in getting pregnant with egg donation.

EGG DONATION

For egg donation, you as the recipient must not be older than 45 years at the start of treatment. The donor must not be older than 30. You can bring a donor, a relative, friend or confidant, with you to the clinic.

The chances of getting pregnant through artificial insemination with donated eggs are much higher than with IVF or ICSI treatment with your own eggs. This is due to the higher rate of healthy eggs from the younger donor.

Per treatment cycle, the probability of getting pregnant is 65%. However, this is also influenced by your hormonal situation and lifestyle.

HIGHER RISK AT AN OLDER AGE?

The risk of miscarriage and genetic defects in the child increases somewhat with pregnancies at an older age. The probability of a child being born with trisomy 21, for example, is 0.3% at age 35, rising to 1% at 40 and 5% in the mid-40s. The likelihood of pregnancy toxicity (preeclampsia) also increases. The risk factors are there, but should not be overstated. Pregnancies at 40 plus are considered high-risk pregnancies and are followed intensively. The pregnancy does not have to be more difficult than others. It is simply better controlled so that as many hurdles as possible are removed for the desired baby.

1. In a detailed initial consultation we get to know each other, we learn about your medical history and determine the strategy for your further treatment.
2. We use various examinations to look into the causes for your unfulfilled desire to have children. These include:
   - A female ultrasound, during which we determine how high your egg reserve is.
   - The determination of your hormone status. The most important fertility parameter here is the so-called anti-Müllerian hormone.
   - Checking the patency of the fallopian tubes (Hydro Contrast Sonography HyCoSy) to determine whether both fallopian tubes are open.
   - Examination of male fertility by means of a spermiogram.