All women are born with a fixed number of eggs in their body that can be fertilized by sperm to create new life. However, along with the quantity of eggs available, the quality of those eggs also play an important role in successfully conceiving a child.
A healthy egg should have the right number of chromosomes and the ability to combine with the chromosomes in the sperm. Poor quality eggs may not have the right number of chromosomes making pregnancy very unlikely. Your eggs also need a lot energy to split correctly after fertilization. As you grow older, your eggs have less energy to divide which makes it difficult to form a healthy embryo.
Women in their 20s and even early 30s usually have a vast quantity of good quality eggs and very few unfavorable ones. By the time they are in their late 30s, they probably have more bad quality eggs than good ones reducing the chances of achieving a successful pregnancy. Other factors that can reduce the quality of ovarian reserve are ill health, poor genes, habits such as smoking, diseases such as endometriosis, radiation & chemotherapy.
Even if conception is possible from a poor-quality egg, the chances of carrying the child to term is very low. After fertilization, eggs of lesser quality may not be able to be implanted properly in the uterus or they may not be healthy enough to divide and grow resulting in a miscarriage.
Tests to determine egg quality are usually done on women in their mid-30s or older and include tests such as 3-day FSH or estradiol tests which are blood tests done on the third day of your menstrual cycle. High levels of FSH or estradiol are an indicator of poor egg quality. In vitro fertilization (combining of the egg and sperm in a lab) may also be done to determine if the egg will grow.
Having low quality eggs does not mean you cannot become pregnant. ReproMed Fertility Center offers advanced diagnostic testing and fertility treatment solutions that can be personalized to help maximize your chances of achieving pregnancy and delivering a healthy baby. Make your appointment today!