Comments on: Age and fertility

By: Kami

Kami — Sun, 17 May 2009 19:20:09 +0000

To adress your question directly doctor… I think it is the right & responsibility of your patients to self-determine what is too old. I believe your responsibility is simply to inform your patients so that they have the facts they need to make a well-informed choice. Beyond that, i believe that you just practice the best medicine you can. The patient(s) must balace their own desires, resources, motivations, etc. I think you are doing the right thing to offer your service to those with low statistical odds. It may hurt your clinic’s stats, but I think the alternative is much worse.

By: Katy

Katy — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 05:03:41 +0000

Men often have children at an older age, yet it is selfish for women to do so? That is a double standard. These days people are taking better care of themselves and esp women are living to an older age, on average longer than their male counterparts. No one can perdict the future. Many people have children at a young age based on very uninformed choices, and these children may have young parents, but they may not have a good life. There are so many variables, in the ideal world it depends on the parents character, not an age…

By: Andrea

Andrea — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 16:41:35 +0000

I think referring to population statistics can be very discouraging for women. Therefore, each women should be assessed as an individual. My colleague conceived naturally at 43 (after many failed IVFs performed at leading centres around the world) after being told by leading MDs that she would never be a parent. There is so much that medicine can offer couples with subfertility and yet so much it cannot begin to explain. Age is only one of many factors. If we can help our bodies retain the balance and health of younger women through a holistic approach (TCM, Nutrition ect), our chances may not be a limited as mainstream medicine would like us to believe.

By: Mandy

Mandy — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 16:41:14 +0000

I think it is important for women to remember it isn’t just about having a baby. We need to remember that our children would like us around for as long as possible. I feel that while it is valuable for us to have some life experience to raise a family…it would seem unethical to have a child just to say we did and leave our young child alone because we are too old, became ill due to age and died. Time and unforseen occurance befall us all. However making a choice should always be informed if possible. We need to sit down and count the cost and be reasonable, not selfish.