Trying to get pregnant in your 40's and how peri menopause may impact your fertility.

Peri menopause, the transitional phase before menopause, typically begins in a woman’s 40s, though it can start earlier. During this time, your fertility naturally declines, which can affect your chances of getting pregnant.

Here's how peri menopause can impact fertility:

1. Decreased Egg Quality and Quantity: As you age, the number and quality of your eggs diminish. This makes it more difficult to conceive, and there’s a higher risk of chromosomal abnormalities in the eggs, which can lead to miscarriages or conditions like Down syndrome.

2. Irregular Ovulation: Peri menopause often leads to irregular menstrual cycles due to fluctuating hormone levels (particularly estrogen and progesterone). This can result in inconsistent ovulation, making it harder to predict your fertile window.

3. Hormonal Changes: The hormonal shifts during peri menopause, including lower levels of estrogen and progesterone, can impact your uterine lining, making it harder for a fertilized egg to implant and develop.

4. Increased Risk of Miscarriage: Women in their 40s have a higher risk of miscarriage, partly because of declining egg quality and the hormonal changes associated with peri menopause.

However, dispite all of the above things that may impact your fertility, many women are still able to conceive naturally during peri menopause, it just means slightly more planning is involved.

Things that I assist women in their 40's with when trying to conceive are:

1. Understanding their hormones: We will analyse your BBT charts (see previous posts if you don't know what that is), blood and hormone tests. I will also teach you how to do a BBT chart and to read it every week.

2. Reassess diet: There are many things women can do to improve their chances of falling pregnant, this includes changing your diet to be more fertility friendly and ensuring any nutritional deficiencies are resolved. We will also look at cutting out foods that are known to impact fertility for example alcohol.

3. Lifestyle: Managing stress, getting great quality sleep, and doing calming exercises are known to help women when going through fertility issues. Acupuncture has been shown to reduce anxiety and calm the mind.

4. Chinese herbal formulas: There are many ancient herbal formulas that are available to you in Australia, this can complement your fertility journey.

If you are considering getting pregnant in your 40's, book in a time with myself and we can discuss what your personal needs are and how I may be able to assist you.