QuestionHi.
I am 41. my FSH is 7 and my AMH is 5.7 I had a miscarriage at 25 and then two healthy pregnancies. With each pregnancy I got pregnant in the first month after discontinuing birth control pills. I am wondering if it is better to try to conceive naturally or with IVF. It may sound like a dumb question. I am also wondering if my numbers are any indicator of egg quality or just of how well they would respond to stimulation. I am obviously very concerned about birth or chromosomal defects at my age. thanks in advance.
AnswerHello Carrie from the U.S. (New York),
Your FSH and AMH are indicators of ovarian function and not egg quality. There is no measure or test for egg quality and that is what is affected with age. Based on the numbers, it seems that your ovaries are still in good condition and probably will respond well to stimulation with fertility medications.
In terms of your risk of genetic abnormalities, that is a risk you have based on age. It cannot be predicted or prevented. The only option that you have to significantly reduce that risk is to consider preimplantation genetic screening, which is done in conjunction with IVF. In this procedure, the already developing embryos undergo biopsy at Day#5 and evaluation for the chromosomes is done. This will tell you which embryos are normal or abnormal at that stage. It doesn't guarantee a normal fetus (because there is still more development after that stage), but it significantly reduces the risk. Your risk of genetic abnormalities would be the same if the pregnancy occurred naturally or via IVF, but in my experience, the risk is lessened via IVF because the embryo has to undergo a harsher process in order to achieve pregnancy. In my 20 years of experience, I have only had three genetically abnormal fetuses out of many hundreds of pregnancies.
If you have not tried naturally, it would be worthwhile to try on your own for up to 6 months, but if no pregnancy ensues in that time, I would recommend quickly moving to IVF before you run out of time.
Good Luck,
Dr. Edward J. Ramirez, M.D., FACOG
Executive Medical Director
The Fertility and Gynecology Center
Monterey Bay IVF Program
www.montereybayivf.com
Monterey, California, U.S.A.
for additional information check out my blog at http://womenshealthandfertility.blogspot.com check me out on twitter with me at @montereybayivf and facebook @montereybayivf. I now provide personalized fee for service consultations/advice/direction via email and payable via Pay Pal. If interested, contact me via my email at info@montereybayivf.com. This service will allow you to have your own personal on-demand infertility expert
