Female age and reproductive chances

Abstract

We currently live in an era of family planning and female work-force emancipation, while experiencing an ever-increasing lifespan. With this has come the freedom and ability to delay the age of childbearing and facilitate conception. However, for some women this delay may result in having to undergo assisted reproductive treatment (ART) to achieve pregnancy or even in the inability to conceive at all. While calendar, or ‘chronological age’ is very much related to biological or ‘reproductive age’, they can also represent separate entities. This means that while some women will be able to achieve a spontaneous pregnancy at age 35 without any problems, others may then have already missed their window of optimal opportunity. This chapter will cover the basic aspects of the reproductive physiology of the aging woman, as well as the demographics and consequences of postponed reproduction.