Is It OK To Get Pregnant If I Am Over 40?

As you get older, pregnancy poses three distinct issues. The first is whether you're able to get pregnant in the first place. A woman's fertility declines as she ages. Many factors contribute to this, but the primary one is what doctors call egg quality. When a female is born, her ovaries already contain all the eggs she will ever have in her life. As she gets older, the eggs in this dwindling supply deteriorate, as do the structures that protect them until they are ready to be used. Over time, an increasing proportion of the woman's eggs can't be fertilized at all, or are so badly damaged they die soon after fertilization. The increased incidence of other health problems -- including hormonal malfunctions, infections of the reproductive tract, and diseases such as diabetes -- also contributes to the general decline in fertility in this age group.